Samenvatting

Child and youth welfare have become a prime concern for society today, but the care and health system experience difficulties in finding a coordinated and inviting approach. In this project for a youth health center in Goes, chosen for having statistically the highest need for childcare in the province of Zeeland, a new set-up is considered for an integrated care center in the heart of the city, which brings together several practices now spread over the city. Because the selected new premises, a historic ensemble part of which was the former orphanage, offers less space than the combined practices currently have, the whole program of services and staff facilities is reconsidered and reformulated. The program for the youth and the public is reached from the market and a courtyard/atrium which is also a public thoroughfare. The staff shares the first floor. The meetings between youth, parents and professionals take place in a special meeting center, a house-like volume with different floors, all with meeting rooms adapted to children needs and taste. It can also be entered through climb- and walkways hidden in the walls, only by the children themselves. Other consulting rooms can be found in the attic of the old orphanage, reached by a walking bridge. The complex as a whole is innovative in respect to following the theory of the basic emotional needs for children, and by putting youth and children first of place in an inviting environment. For the staff a new working environment is created, which reaches out to their public and encourages and facilitates professional crossovers