UArchitects: Winner of Architect of the Year Awards 2021. Unit 5 of  the “Penitentiaire Inrichting Maasberg” in Overloon is converted from an institution for adults into an autonomously functioning juvenile detention institution.

A new and more intensive interaction with the surrounding nature is aimed at for the youngsters.

The resoluteness of the world which aims at the interior is partly removed, so that the youngsters can prepare themselves for their return in society.

The concept aims at an open, transparent building between the closed prison and the outside world. Visitors can throw a glance at the prison life and the youngsters can look at the outside world, the society in which they will return later on.

For the flexibility at future changes in the program and treatment, the construction is situated in the side façade, the service pipes have been integrated centrally and the side façades are composed of front elements which can be changed modularly.

By means of the light appearance and the placement on metal feet in the woodland soil, the volume seems to float in the wood. Because of the layered façade in steel, aluminium and Bangkirai the building will be merged in the surrounding woodland scenery, showing different shades of grey.

The class-rooms on the first floor and the visiting rooms on the ground floor are functioning separately from each other by means of the two outside stairs in the head façades.

At the entrance to the visiting room there is a hall in which both functions are in contact with each other, dramatizing the moment of the meeting between the youngsters and the visitors.

The severe measures and the rhythmic of the carefully detailed elements of the façade may lend a structure to the youngsters, which they need to proceed their way. 

This pavilion is the first phase of a masterplan.

Project Details
Firm
UArchitects

Project Name
Juvenile Detention Pavilion

Architect/Designer
Misak Terzibasiyan

Architect of the Year Awards Category
Institutional Building Built

Project Location
Overloon

Team
UArchitects

Country
The Netherlands

Photography ©Credit
©Nobert van Onna

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UArchitects The founder and owner of UArchitects, Misak Terzibasiyan, is personally and professionally focusing on an international context as well as on the influence of cultural themes. This is mainly based on his ethnical background, whereas Misak Terzibasiyan was born in Helsinki (Finland).

He studied at the University of Technology in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and has been working at international architectural offices before founding in the cultural architectural icon, the city of Eindhoven. UArchitects is an international office which welcomes different nationalities.

Our investigative attitude is expressed in the intensive dialogue we undertake with our clients. The scope for reflection is not confined to the projects themselves; we also look into the wider cultural context of architecture and urban development. We make a social contribution to investigate the position and responsibilities of the architect and town planner.

Reflection helps for interactions in another culture and it helps us to understand our position regarding general themes which are part of society. Understanding the identity of society is fundamental for us when we are designing projects in other cultures and places. It is not a typical critical regionalism, but a more sensitive open approach of the context.