Just outside the historic city walls of Amersfoort lies a former military hospital. The complex, separated from its residential surroundings by a moat, is awaiting a new function. A forgotten island amid advancing urbanisation. Various buildings are arranged in military order, mirrored around a central axis. Like a crab, a central main building stretches out its arms and connects the separate linear volumes. Two later-built H-shaped plan typologies break the symmetry. The requested programme includes residential care, housing, co-working, fitness, medical care, and a hotel with a cafeteria. A mix that should revive the island.

The design uses the military logic of connecting. A curved arm is strategically used to connect two buildings while sparing the existing monumental trees. Linear extensions take over the dimensions of the existing volumes, form new courtyards and are duplicated where possible. A relic of the H pavilion is retained but, due to the new interventions, will be located in a monumental park, equivalent to the ceremonial entrance square. The new additions are constructed in CLT timber as a structural translation of the existing typologies. The new whole seeks a balance between historical and contemporary and is characterised by a clear simplicity.