Willemen Construct renovated the existing residential care centre (RCC) and realised a new construction to the current building. After this thorough reconditioning and modernisation, the building is ready for the future.

The residential care centre in the centre of Sint-Niklaas dates from 1983 and could use a thorough renovation. Willemen Construct realised this project in an Engineering & Build formula in collaboration with BEC and based on a design by DETOO Architects. The WZC remained in use during the works. To limit disruption to residents and staff, the works were carried out in 4 phases.

The focus in renovating the RCC was on modernising and reconditioning the building. To adapt the rooms to the new square metre standard, the number of rooms was reduced from 174 to 120. A cafeteria, communal areas, offices, a chiné and ergotherapy room, a meeting room and the reception area were also provided in the 7,000 sq m building. The new five-storey building contains communal areas and living spaces for residents and their visitors.

Energy-efficient renovation

A second major focus of the modernisation was a thorough energy renovation. The existing boiler room was retained as it still had a recent heating system. We supplemented this system with an air-to-air heat pump fed by PV panels for cooling and heating the living areas of the new building volume. From an energy point of view, we also opted for timber-frame walls for the finishing of the new building volume, the entire building was given new, high-performance exterior joinery, the roof was renewed and better insulated, and a ventilation concept was integrated. The lighting was exchanged for energy-efficient LED lighting. Also from a sustainability point of view, we now use rainwater recovery for flushing the toilets.

Sustainability also received due attention during the construction phase. For instance, we used site chain with thorough insulation, LED lighting and presence detection. The site ran entirely on 100% green electricity and the wood for the formwork was 100% FSC-labelled.