Herman Hertzberger constructed De Drie Hoven in 1975 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  World War II caused an incredible amount of damage to the inner cities in Netherlands, and post war statistics showed that Amsterdam residents were moving out of the city.  Along with this rural movement, Amsterdam saw many of its residents moving into single-person households.  Hertzberger saw this as an opportunity, and he designed the De Drie Hoven to be a retirement home for elderly people living alone.  Hertzberger’s goal in creating the building was to create a warm inviting home for elderly people to live together.  All sections of the building meet at the middle at a place called the ‘village.’  This is where you will find retail, coffee, and food shops.  The goal of the ‘village’ is to meet the occupants shopping needs without making the elderly people leave the building.  The building also has many different gathering rooms and living rooms unlike most apartment places.  Nowadays, elderly people don’t prefer to socialize as much, so De Drie Hoven is being remodelled to help isolate its residents a little more.  Hertzberger said “I think De Drie Hoven has helped reduce the amount of lonely elderly people in Amsterdam.”