Kantoorgebouw, Gedempte Zuiderdiep 24

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

OFFICE BUILDING, situated on the corner of the Gedempte Zuiderdiep and the Eerste Drift, built in 1903 on the commission of R. Hazewinkel Jzn. as an office building and printing works for the Nieuwsblad van het Noorden according to the design of the Groningen architect G. Nijhuis in Art Nouveau style. The building is currently temporarily occupied pending a new office function. The tile tableaux on the exterior were manufactured by the tile factory Van Hulst from Harlingen as well as the tiling of the former hall. The interior has been modernised with the exception of the former hall and the director's office. With the forthcoming restoration (1994) the original entrance in the centre will be restored to its former glory.

Description

The building is constructed on a rectangular ground plan and consists of a basement storey above which are two storeys and a mezzanine storey under a truncated hipped roof, covered with a brown glazed flat tile. Above the somewhat sunken mezzanine windows is a segmental arch frieze. The facades are finished with a profiled wooden gutter. The central risalit and the roof dormers with lean-to roofs are boarded with beaded boards. On the ridge are ceramic finials. The facades are constructed from red Groninger pressed brick. The basement storey is clad with grey granite (front facade) and bordered with an elegant wrought-iron fence with elegant Art Nouveau motifs between carved granite pilasters. The central bay, in which the main entrance was originally located, projects one stone. On the ground floor are two by six segmental arch windows. The arches are executed in profiled granite. At the bottom of the windows is a meandering ovolo moulding of glazed moulded stone and natural stone corner pieces. The later inserted window on the ground floor of the central risalit is flanked by two elegant wrought-iron lanterns. The two storey windows are combined in a segmental arch. The upper window has coloured stained glass with floral motifs and the name of the newspaper. The storey windows are tripartite with heavy mullions under a segmental arch. On the parapets on the storey and between the segmental arches of the ground floor windows on the front and side facade are continuous glazed tile tableaux in Art Nouveau style with extremely colourful floral motifs and the name designation of the newspaper. Internally of importance are the former director's office on the ground floor on the corner, still in its original state, with coloured stained glass panels in the fanlights, oak panelling, carved oak fireplace and painted ceiling with floral motifs in Art Nouveau style, and the former hall with tiled walls with lilies and two particularly finely designed broad door sections under segmental arches with cut glass and a narrower panel door with characteristic bronze door handle in Art Nouveau style.

Valuation

Office building, designed in the style of Art Nouveau according to the design of the then prominent Groningen architect G. Nijhuis, of general significance because of its cultural-historical and architectural-historical value because of the originality and unique character of the design - the most important work of the architect -, and because of the high quality and rarity of the intact facade decoration of glazed tile tableaux in Art Nouveau style. Moreover, the building is an architecturally valuable element in the southern facade wall of the Gedempte Zuiderdiep in Groningen.