Princess Máxima Center

The Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology is the largest pediatric cancer center in Europe. As a reference center for pediatric and adolescent oncology, it sets new standards in care, research and education in the field of cancer medicine and care. At the heart of the architectural construction task is the desire to achieve these new standards by incorporating the care concept in the architectural design. In the course of this assignment, Kopvol takes up the core concept of a medicine supporting child development and transforms it into a building concept supporting the development of families: “The development-oriented building”. This so-called QS (Qualitative Space Concept) serves as a basis for the later building design.

Two aspects of this concept determine 50% of the families’ inpatient environment today: the OKE and the ABO. OKE refers to a new and innovative patient room typology consisting of a classic patient room, an age-adapted children’s or adolescent’s room and a parental bed- and study room. OKE, or parent-child room, is the abbreviation of the Dutch term Ouder-Kind-Eenheid (Parent-Child Unit). ABO refers to the “distraction and movement surfaces” created by skilful reduction of traffic areas, which run like a network of fine veins through the building with non-clinical retreat areas where children, young people and families create their own stress-free spaces.