This office building for Stiching Altrecht, an organisation for psychiatric care, is located in the beautiful landscape of Den Dolder in the middle of a forest. The terrain has been used as a mental institution since the beginning of the 20^th century. The hospital buildings were spread into the landscape along a middle ax, like pavilions.

In the course of Altrecht’s policy of “inverted integration” the area will be opened for the public, some of the old hospital buildings will get a different function and new housing will be introduced. The Rotterdam office, West 8, designed the master plan for this new development. VMX was commissioned for the three ‘specials’ within the master plan: two residential buildings and the new office for Stiching Altrecht.

 The new office building of 1500m² had to replace an existing office building with a much bigger surface, therefore the office layout had to be extremely efficient in terms of space usage. On the other hand, in such a beautiful location, one wanted to provide as much of a view as possible to the outside. The circular building shape works best for both demands. The core contains the general facilities, the staircases and the lift, whereas all the working areas gain a beautiful view. One of the most characteristic elements of the location is picked up in the façade: grassy hills surround the building while grassy balconies surround each floor. The depth of the balcony works as sun protection and the green planting emphasises the connection with the nature, reinforcing Altrechts policy towards environmental healing.