Ter Heide is a care provider that provides support to 430 children and adults with multiple disabilities across four campuses (Genk, Zonhoven, Borgloon and Tongeren). Most of Ter Heide's buildings on the Genk and Zonhoven campuses date from the late 1970s and early 1980s. To structure the renovation operation, a master plan of 4 phases was developed. Phase 1 with the new buildings for the day centre and residential area Oase (4 houses) has already been realised.

Willemen Construct received the assignment for Phase 2, which involves the creation of 10 new residences spread over 3 different residential areas: Eik and Berk in Zonhoven and Heuvel in Genk, intended for the three target groups for which Ter Heide provides guidance. In Zonhoven, we are building 3 MED homes and 3 MID homes. In Genk, we are building 2 GES homes, 1 GES structure home and 1 GES+ home.

The design is strongly geared towards cost-conscious building and puts maximum emphasis on (subsidised) surface area for the residents. Staff-related surface area - e.g. administrative areas - is kept as low as possible, partly by working with flexible offices and one large, central building. The project focuses strongly on renewable energy by means of rainwater recovery for toilet flushes and outdoor taps, solar boilers for hot water, heat pumps combined with underfloor heating, cold-heat storage via a cistern, LED lighting, solar control double glazing, etc.

Willemen Construct is responsible for the shell construction wind and watertight, the finishing, the techniques and environmental construction. One organisational challenge is the simultaneous construction on two physically separate sites.