HANS community centre

The transformation of the historic Castle of Madame de Schuyter into a contemporary community centre explores the relationship between architectural heritage, new interventions and the surrounding parkland.

Rather than treating the existing building and its landscape as constraints, the design considers them as the starting point for a new architectural identity.

A low, contemporary extension preserves the visual prominence of the historic building while opening the community spaces towards the park and its monumental trees. Inspired by the lightness and openness of a temporary pavilion, the extension establishes a fluid relationship between interior and exterior.

A glazed canopy connects old and new, bringing the different architectural elements together into a coherent whole while preserving their individual identities.

Carefully integrated changes in ground level further dissolve the boundaries between building and landscape, creating accessible spaces that naturally extend into the park.

Sustainable materials, restrained architectural interventions and the preservation of the existing natural and built heritage underpin an approach in which new architecture adds value without erasing what is already there.