Since the late 20th century, there has been a significant rise in agricultural companies offering care services in the Netherlands, also known as care farms (van der Meulen et al., 2022). These farms emerged as a response to the large institutions that once housed people with disabilities, often isolating them from society in remote locations surrounded by barriers and fences. While care farms are typically situated in isolated areas, such as rural polders, their purpose is to use this isolation to help people with disabilities engage more actively in society (Elings & Koffijberg, 2022). By removing them from overstimulating environments, negative temptations, and bad friends who can pull them into crime, care farms provide a chance for these individuals to lead better lives. Currently, most care farms offer day care services but do not provide residential options, despite a growing demand for such services from different target groups and the care sector due to evolving care needs (Ferwerda & Hassink, 2015). Care farms prove to contribute successfully to the quality of life, social participation and self-reliance of various people in need of care (Hassink, 2022).

However, care farms situated in polders are facing a significant challenge due to climate change: water (ZUS et al., 2022). Increased rainfall and the need for water storage are prompting plans to flood polders, which could reduce agricultural and building land while creating abundant water. Building homes and providing care on water could become a vital additional income source for existing and future care farms, helping to alleviate pressure on the care sector. While the trend of living on the water has already gained traction among private individuals, it remains an underexplored concept within the care sector.

The largest target group of care farms and with 1.1 million people in the Netherlands a widely represented group, are people with a mild intellectual disability (Landelijk Kenniscentrum LVB, 2024). They can possibly be a well-suited group for living on water within a residential care farm setting. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential of a housing initiative on water for people with mild intellectual disabilities as part of a residential care farm.

To explore the potential of this concept, the research aims to answer the following question: What kind of spatial qualities can residential care farms provide for people with mild intellectual disabilities in a future with flooded polders? The study focuses on two types of case studies: residential care farms for people with MID and housing on water. Spatial qualities in both types of case studies are analysed through a combination of a literature review, an online survey, and interviews, with a strong emphasis on the perspective of the end users. These methods result in two sets of spatial qualities, which are then compared and evaluated in relation to the housing needs of individuals with a MID.

A residential care farm generally seems to meet the needs of people with MID well, such as creating a place where clients can retreat, living in a community and living in an isolated and natural environment. These qualities are also often mentioned by respondents (without MID) who live on water. The community feeling and the contact with nature are mentioned as major advantages on water. Respondents who live on water also clearly experience more freedom than on land, despite the small distance between neighbours. For residential care farms this could be a reason to realise homes on water, to possibly increase the sense of freedom among this target group. In general, however, living on water cannot directly meet the needs of people with MID that residential care farms do not or cannot meet. However, living on water could possibly provide creative design solutions to meet needs of people with MID in an alternative way, which is shown in the design project at the end of this report.

Kenzo Tange, a prominent architect and figure in the Metabolism movement, played a significant role in shaping Japanese architecture. His designs often combined modernism with traditional Japanese styles, incorporating Metabolist principles such as the use of multiple towers and sky corridors for traffic flow. The Japan World Exhibition in Osaka in 1970, with the imposing space-frame roof and partly designed by Kenzo Tange, served as a showcase for Metabolist ideas and marked the peak of the movement. It is therefore intriguing to explore how Kenzo Tange's involvement in designing the exhibition influenced his subsequent architectural designs.

Despite being designed decades after the peak of the Metabolism movement, Tange's later works still reflect its influence. Tange's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and the Fuji Television Building exemplify Metabolist principles, featuring innovative designs that integrate technology, flexibility, and functionality. Both of these later designs consist of grouped towers, sky corridors, and a futuristic aesthetic. However, some aspects of Tange's designs, such as the use of concrete and the lack of flexibility for future adaptations, raise questions about their long-term sustainability and suitability for evolving societal needs. Overall, the research highlights the evolution of Metabolism in architecture and Kenzo Tange's enduring influence on the movement, even as architectural trends shifted over time.