The Cad'rine

Project: The Cad'rine
Architect: UMAN architect

Programme: Construction of a daytime care facility for adults in the form of an educational farm for people with disabilities, for Cadre ASBL.

About: Construction of a daytime care facility for adults in the form of an educational farm for people with disabilities.

This institution aims to provide a structured, calming, and stimulating environment for adults with intellectual disabilities, whether mild, moderate, severe, or profound. The objective is to foster their personal development through adapted agricultural activities, serving as a meaningful and empowering educational tool.

The building is located on a nearly 5-hectare plot in Malmedy. Its positioning was carefully designed to integrate gently and respectfully into the site’s natural topography, following the contour lines and minimizing its visual impact on the built and landscaped surroundings. The project is based on a simple and compact volumetric composition, ensuring clear architectural readability while harmoniously engaging with the surrounding rural context.

The ground floor accommodates all the essential functions of the center: living spaces, activity areas, educational workshops, a shop for selling farm products, and administrative offices. A semi-buried level, integrated into the natural slope of the land, houses the technical facilities, including storage areas, the boiler room, changing rooms, a processing workshop, and earthen-floor cellars dedicated to the cultivation of mushrooms and Belgian endives.

The architectural language strikes a balance between tradition and contemporaneity: brick is combined with more modern materials such as fiber-cement cladding. This combination helps break down the volumes, reduce the perception of mass, and ensure a sober and high-quality integration into the site.

Finally, the surroundings of the building are arranged with the creation of a gravel parking area and a covered drop-off zone for beneficiaries. Hedges will be planted along the property boundaries to further enhance the project’s landscape integration.