Long may we live! Long may we live!

In 1957 the social democratic daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk rand a headline that read: 'Willem Dreeshuis good example of modern retirement home'. This was a mild form of propaganda for the welfare state, one of whose spearheads was care for the elderly. The Willem Dreeshuis was commissioned by the Labour Party, the VARA Broadcasting Association, Humanitas and the General Housing Association and was thus the first social democratic retirement home in the Netherlands.

The home included rooms for sixteen couples and 120 single persons, infirmaries for men and women, and living spaces for resident personnel, the caretaker and the director. There were also communal recreation and dining rooms. The kitchen, toilet and bathroom were shared between the residents of three studio apartments. Het Vrije Volk called the home 'modern' because in both scale and design it echoed the surrounding garden suburb, also built in the 1950s. The building consists of two courtyards, open on one side, creating a visual connection with the neighbourhood. The two courtyards are linked by a recreational space - the heart of the home - which has a transparent character thanks to its glass facades. The design thus reflects dual concerns in housing for the elderly: on the one hand, the desire to live in a protected environment, and on the other, the wish to remain part of society.