The rural municipality of Staden is situated in the heart of West Flanders. It is a dynamic municipality with 11,000 inhabitants.

The municipal administration department and social services department (OCMW) have extremely cramped accommodation. Better accommodation is required in order to provide the inhabitants with good and efficient services.
 
The municipal administration department is currently housed in the town hall in Staden. The OCMW is based in a building close to the Home Sint-Jan rest home. Both are situated in the centre of the largest sub-municipality.

The municipal authorities and the OCMW also want to centralise and integrate as much as possible.

The OCMW is currently building a new residential care centre in the district of Oostnieuwkerke. The 59 residents of the St. Jan rest home will move into this new accommodation in 2013. The current Home St. Jan will then become vacant.
Only the OCMW administrative department and the social services will then still be present on the site.

The Staden municipal authorities believe that this free space and the existing buildings offer the possibility of accommodating the administrative departments of the OCMW and municipal authorities in an integrated project.
The OCMW also wants to further expand and strengthen its services by building a local service centre and a social residential project with customised care provision. There is space for around twenty residential units.

The residential fabric of the centre, the adjoining green area which is to be further developed, the adjacent site for a youth movement and the nearby municipal school are important contact points with the immediate surroundings and represent a potential added value for the project.

The Staden municipal authorities want to see the project connected to the existing public functions and public space in a logical, harmonious and well-considered manner.

The authorities are seeking a sober, identifiable and contemporary architecture which blends in naturally with the local environment.

Recognisability, client-orientation, accessibility and openness are important elements. Upon entering the building, its organisation must be transparent and public accessibility clear. The building must provide space for a front and a back office. This open house for all citizens sets a vigorous example as regards sustainability.

The brief comprises three parts:
Part 1: drawing up a master-plan / development plan for the whole site in which administrative services (municipal offices), a local service centre and a residential project are conceptually attuned to one another and the surrounding environment.
Part 2:  architecture brief for the local service centre.
Part 3: architecture brief for the administrative centre (municipal offices)
The realisation of the residential project does not form part of the brief.
The designer is also expected to reflect upon the possibilities for renovating and reconditioning the existing buildings or a part thereof in accordance with the project.

If a new tender procedure is set up, the client may also decide to award the sub-projects to third parties. In that case, the designer may not assert any rights to compensation.

Formulation of development plan: €30,000 excluding VAT and fees
Project: €4,500,000 excluding VAT, including construction of outdoor areas

Fee basis: 
New building
Architecture fee between 5% and 7%
Stability fee between 1% and 2% of the total construction budget
Fee for technical installations between 2% and 3% of the total construction budget
Renovation
Architecture fee between 8% and 11%
Stability fee between 1.5% and 3% of the total construction budget
Fee for technical installations between 2% and 3.5% of the total construction budget
Outdoor areas: according to KVIV scale I between class I and class II