Ronald McDonald Centre

Ronald McDonald Centre in Amsterdam, was founded by the Ronald McDonald House Charities. It’s the first sports Centre in Western Europe specially designed and built for children with disabilities or those with a chronic disease.

At the Centre, all the children can focus themselves on what they already can, what they like to develop and how to strengthen their physical and mental condition. At the same time, underprivileged youngsters can get a practical education to give them a connection with society.

An important design goal was to communicate a sense of security to children and adolescents, and at the same time create an enviromment where they could develop the feeling of being a top athlete. Along with unrestricted access, areas for socializing and areas for privacy are therefore of great importance.

The centre of the complex is the main building, wedged between two oval arenas, which are sunk in the elevated terrain and are surrounded by trees and grandstand stairs. The buildings, trees and grandstands stairs along the arenas provide a sense of an ever-present audience. Overhead, the Centre sports Stretch Metal Ceilings by Hunter Douglas which neatly integrate lighting and the buiding’s HVAC systems.