Long may we live!
Competition for ‘Almshouses for the 21st century’ (1990) A. Hosper
New almshouses on the Spaarne
In 1990, to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the city of Haarlem - the 'city of almshouses', a competition was organised to design new almshouses on the River Spaarne. For this design, landscape architect Alle Hosper drew and studied all the almshouses in Haarlem, many of which housed the elderly. He looked at the form of the buildings and their relationship to the garden. He studied the position of the old regents' room in terms of security and possible design solutions. This is a convincing example of how an architect can work with an old typology and historical forms of housing for the elderly and how these can be incorporated within a new design.