Huis Perrekes has been in existence since 1986 and embraces three houses, each for fifteen people with dementia. The group has a heterogeneous make-up according to the stage of the dementia process, age, gender and socio-cultural background. The care and supervision at Huis Perrekes is provided within the context of small-scale, normalised residential living for people with dementia – a house which is as normal as possible in a normal street in a normal town. A conscious decision was made to call it a 'house', as this refers to the interplay of the material and immaterial environment. The 'house' is intended to invite the residents to participate while at the same time containing, supporting and leaving them free.

Huis Perrekes opts to break down barriers and to integrate into the town. Fellow inhabitants of the town make use of the care and services and are involved in the range of activities on offer while residents, family members and staff use the services in the town.

Huis Perrekes opts for a diversity of customised care. In addition to the core residential task, it also aims to support and supplement homecare services. The care hostel provides daycare and both daytime and night-time accommodation. Family members and visitors can also spend the night there. The assisted-living homes provide accommodation for people who need to be close to a care environment and those who want to live near to family members. With the start of the daycare centre, Huis Perrekes wants to complete the circle of the continuum and give the children of staff and local residents the chance to grow up in an environment in which they can enter into contact with others. Everyone involved and each part of the continuum is a stimulus for contact with the other and invites one to fulfil a meaningful role for as long as possible.

A concept brief has been developed for the future of Huis Perrekes, which focuses the ambitions for the project and translates them into a spatial scenario. The core of the proposal is a central park of gardens between the existing houses and the expansion site. This public zone follows the route of the local road to the fields behind, and in addition to its function as an access and short-cut area, it is also used as a meadow with animals, vegetable gardens and various play and rest places. The interweaving of this public site with the private gardens of existing and new buildings will encourage interaction and joint use.
For the new buildings along this central area, the architecture reflects the vision of Huis Perrekes. It creates a balance between as much independence as possible for each person on the one hand and a safe and stimulating environment on the other. Key words include familiarity, recognisability, simplicity, convenient organisation, beauty and invitation.

The design and construction of the care hostel (10 rooms for short-stay accommodation and 10 places for day care) and the house for 15 people with dementia will be subsidised by Vipa and is guaranteed along with the building of 6 assisted-living homes (2340 sq. m.). The building of the childcare centre for 23 children (460 sq. m.) and the outdoor areas of the public meeting area with playground (3200 sq. m.), located in the public domain of the town of Geel) are under negotiation. In the initial phase, the design also comprises the layout of the private gardens and a vision for the parking issue (3900 sq. m.). In the second phase, a second house for 15 people with dementia, the renovation of an existing house (460 sq. m.) to create a palliative facility (hospice) and 4 additional assisted-living homes (1900 sq. m.) are planned, each with corresponding private gardens, parking and surroundings grounds (780 sq. m.). These will be built on plots of land owned by third parties, and these negotiations are still ongoing. Following completion of the first phase, the client may decide to award the second phase to the design team. The designers will submit a cost proposal for this second phase.

Budget to be determined, a number of sub-projects will be subsidised byVIPA (Flemish Infrastructure Fund for Matters Relating to the Individual)

global fee 10 to 12 % maximum, excluding VAT (including stability, technical installations and landscape)