The Asserbos in Assen is an ancient plantation forest dated back the Middle Ages transformed with Baroque landscape tradition interventions around 1763 in a large recreation forest of the Northern city of Assen. 

As part of our presentation during the selection tendering we meet with our team at the children's farm, Jacco Pauw and Jean Frantzen from DGMR are there. Our brainstorm session on how to approach this assignment, brings us being to close to it, to the manure and other waste of the farm and the forest. Could that be an ingredient to work with? We decide to investigate that as a possibility there that day and that is still until today present. 

Biomass ingredients of the site became not only the inspiration of the development, it became the fuel of a heating system for the building; the forest ‘garbage’ of twigs and dead wood became the food for the wood burners that heating of the building.

This project is in particular about making the durability visible and sensible the building in order to educate our children. Social awareness on durability is increased with buildings that 'breathe' their intentions, in design aesthetics as well as services. 

The building is equipped with a low tech durable strategy that was developed in collaboration with Jean Frantzen (DGMR) and Aad Melgerd (AMIC consultancy). The inspiration for the remaining measures are found in the ventilation principle of a termite hill. This element is combined with one of the main architectural features for kids in the building, the watchtower overlooking the forest and at different level with the birds.