Eeklo is a town of at least 20,000 inhabitants and acts as a centre for the Meetjesland region. Everyone who lives in Eeklo should be able to lead a good-quality life. To make this possible, Eeklo's OCMW provides social services to all its inhabitants, especially those who are deprived in terms of welfare. With this aim, the OCMW has developed a range of services within its legal framework. Eeklo's OCMW supports the cooperation of various associations active in the field of welfare in the town. The most obvious examples are the Social Services Centre (Sociaal Huis), which acts as a single point of contact for all welfare enquiries, and the Zuidkaai Welfare Campus, where most of these associations are housed at a single address.

The OCMW aims to gives its clients the best chance of improving the quality of their lives and their ability to manage their lives. We do this with an open mind by means of services that are accessible to everyone and have a low threshold. We are attentive to the self-respect and self-confidence of our clients. In this respect, the OCMW responds flexibly and both remedially and proactively to evolving social needs at the level of the individual and that of local social policy and OCMW policy.

The image the OCMW wishes to present in so doing is that of a warm, client-oriented, objective and reliable fighter against deprivation. We achieve our aims in an effective and efficient way in a dynamic setting. The OCMW would in this regard like to play a pioneering role in the region.

With an eye to the centralisation of the provision of social services to citizens, the decision has been made to house the OCMW at the existing Zuidkaai welfare campus. The new administrative centre will be sited in the park zone adjoining the present welfare campus. This campus includes several protected trees and also a protected building; account will naturally have to be taken of this. The campus is accessible from Zuidmoerstraat and also Kaaistraat and Stationstraat. The management has already developed a vision for the grounds in cooperation with a landscape architect.

The internal organisation should be clear and simple and must fit into the limited volume available.

The new building will in future provide workspace for about 60 staff. For security purposes it is desirable to make a distinction between areas that are accessible to the public and those that are not.

The client wants to put up a recognisable and client-oriented building with a warm atmosphere and a low threshold, in contemporary architecture and integrated into its surroundings. One of the other objectives is sustainability in the broadest sense of the word. The aim of sustainable building here takes the form of a low-energy office.

The set budget must be strictly adhered to.

All-inclusive flat rate of €218,000 excl. VAT + bonus of €10,000 excl. VAT (strict monitoring of budget)