Woonhuis, Emmaplein 6

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction VILLA WITH OFFICE, detached situated in the northeast quadrant of the Emmaplein, built in 1905 on commission of J.M. Huizinga for the Algemene Groninger Levensverzekering Maatschappij according to design of the Groningen architect P.M.A. Huurman in an architectural style with clear characteristics of renewal architecture around the turn of the century. The entire plot is bordered by an iron fence. The original entrance section, flanked by two large sandstone pelicans, in the front facade was removed in 1919 and replaced by a window. Despite this alteration, the building has retained its highly monumental character. The building is now in use as an office. Description The monumental building is erected on a rectangular ground plan and comprises three storeys and an attic storey under a hipped roof and tent roof, covered with red Dutch tiles. The ground floor is built of bright red brick; the upper storeys are constructed of white facing brick. In the gables, friezes and locally in the parapets below the windows, decoratively worked red pressed brick is used. The front facade on the square is constructed from a wide gabled bay with a segmental oriel over the ground floor and first storey. Alongside are two window bays with diagonally placed windows on the storey. The straight-shuttered windows of the oriel are set in a sandstone frame. A sandstone balustrade flows smoothly into the facade arch that spans the balcony doors and windows. The door has a vaulted wooden lintel, the oriel windows a semi-circular profiled straight lintel. In the natural stone decoration use was made of chamfers and suggestions of block capitals. The various gables and the wall surface between the gutter brackets are decorated with brick decoration in timber-frame imitation. The southwestern facade possesses a relatively large glass surface that emphasises the former residential function of the storeys. This and the remaining facades are likewise richly decorated with brick and natural stone. The east side has a zinc-covered entrance portal with characteristically worked parapets and a glass partition wall with coloured leaded glass. On the first storey on the northwest corner there is a sandstone balcony with sandstone balustrade. The fanlights of the windows on both the ground floor and the storeys have coloured leaded glass with geometric motifs. The entire plot is bordered by an iron fence. Internally the original layout and finish have been largely preserved. Of importance are among others the hall with white marble floor, wooden draught door with sidelights with glazing bars and cut glass, the parquet floor in the corridor, the tiling in one of the lavatories on the ground floor, the wooden staircase with fine coloured leaded glass over three storeys, the richly ornamented stucco ceilings with leaf and flower motifs in a couple of rooms and the fanlights with coloured leaded glass in most windows. Evaluation Villa with office, designed in an architectural style with clear characteristics of Renewal Architecture of around the turn of the century according to design of the architect P.M.A. Huurman who worked in Groningen at that time, of general importance for its cultural-historical and architectural-historical value due to the quality of the design and the careful choice of material and its balanced application in both the beautifully composed facades and in the interior (components). Moreover, the building, situated in the northeastern quadrant of a roundabout and lying in a sight line across the Emmaplein towards the Stationsstraat, forms a very important architectural element in the high-quality urban planning structure of the ring of boulevards along the south side of the city centre of Groningen.