An armored statue looms up on the outskirts of Nijmegen. This is the Domus, a safe and warm home for those who are no longer welcome anywhere. For “frequent offenders” with whom the police or judicial authorities do not know what to do. The architecture helps residents break out of the protective environment and stand on their own two feet.

The building consists of three floors and a garden. Each layer has eight residents’ rooms around a communal living room and kitchen with outdoor space. The entire complex is enclosed by a facade of perforated Corten steel panels. In order to give the Domus complex more openness, panoramic windows have been placed in the Corten steel shell in four places. There is a lot of protection to the outside, but on the inside the building is open, light and fresh.

Corten steel provides a connection between the function of the building and the aesthetic design. The material oxidizes, which creates a protective rust layer on the metal. Under this outer layer we find the skin of the building, which consists of waterproof sheets of plywood covered with Fassawall foil. The double skin symbolizes the inhabitants of the Domus. All people with a rough past. Hardened on the outside, but actually very fragile.

In broad daylight, the skin of the Domus gives a rusted, lived and protected image. At night, the building lives and lights up through the vertical strips of LED lights placed around the entire facade. An analogy to the life of the homeless. When darkness falls, vulnerability also becomes visible. Unevenness in the foil becomes visible through the perforation like a living skin. At the same time, the illuminated Domus is a beacon in the night. Every five minutes, the light changes from green to orange, cyan and magenta.