Festive opening for the new IKC+
Yesterday was the official opening of the Integrated Children’s Centre Katwijk, which opened at the beginning of this year. From the municipality of Katwijk, Alderman Jacco Knape of Education was present, who explained why this IKC+ is so valuable for the area.
IKC+ Katwijk is a multi-functional building for various users and houses regular and specialised primary education. Connection and cooperation are at the heart of the design. The architecture encourages encounters between students and cooperation between partners. Sport, childcare, youth care and education each have their own domain within the building, but are closely connected by the central axis. The central axis forms the physical connection between all the spaces in the building and symbolises the collaboration between the different functions. This ‘inner street’ has niches, spots and high voids with extra daylight and continues into the sports hall.
The housing for IKC+ Katwijk is built for growth and is therefore sustainable. For example, the possibility of an additional storey has been taken into account in the supporting structure. The classrooms are lit by solar panels on the roof, and the basement contains a thermal energy storage system (TES) that could be used by the entire neighbourhood in the future.