The very mention of assisted-living centres brings to mind desolate buildings in which inconsolable people routinely pass the winter of their lives. Things are different at De Drie Platanen in Ostend, designed by Bovenbouw Architectuur. Welcome to a complex that bears witness to a rare personality and fits into the social fabric of the entire neighbourhood.

The man with the bulldog is fifteen minutes late this morning. He walks into the Nieuwe Koerswijk at a brisk pace, with no time – as usual – to pop his head through the kitchen window to see what’s on the menu today. The local boys cycle past the living room at eight o’clock sharp, heading for school and the polders. Half an hour later, the hairdresser steps off the bus and into the building. She has an appointment for a haircut later. Meanwhile, the cabbages seem to have grown well in the vegetable patch. The little patch next to it has been thoroughly raked today by the children, who will be planting their own vegetables with Grandad tomorrow. The lady with the purple hair has been dozing on her little terrace downstairs since about ten o’clock, with a Sudoku puzzle on her lap. Just now, on the other side in the kitchen, they’ve started making soup – tomato, it looks like. Later, we’re off to the café to play cards with the local friends, with a proper pint, not the table beer they serve up here. The sea is a lovely blue today. The plane trees are doing well. They’ve been well looked after since they were moved to the back garden.