Woonhuis, Westvlietweg 123

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

Prefabricated wooden COUNTRY HOUSE 'Vliet en Hove', built in 1921 by order of Mr J.A.F. Kok from Rijswijk according to the 'blockhaus' system. The house was supplied by the firm Christoph & Unmack A.G. from Niesky O/L in Silesia (Germany). In the first decades of the 20th century this firm supplied approximately 30 building kits to the Netherlands, which are characterised by a careful elaboration of the design and detailing. Particular to Westvlietweg 123 is that the original transparent light-coloured lacquer layer is still present, as is the red and green colouring of various decorative components. The thin-walled construction derives its rigidity from the build-up of intersecting bulkheads. All parts are connected to each other by means of half-lap vertical notches and fit together with tongue and groove. The roof is supported by heavy trusses that rest on purlins carried by roof frames. The rural building situated near the Vliet is, with the exception of the south side, surrounded by a garden with extensive lawn. The wooden panelling with recesses of the back room on the first floor possibly dates from 1937. NB The modern garage and the extended (partly protruding above ground level) cellar are of subordinate importance for the protection.

Description

Detached country house on a rectangular ground plan with slightly projecting volumes on the longitudinal facades. The rear half-hipped gabled roof with substantial overhang is laid with slate in Dutch bond. The projecting sections of the side facades are topped with a half-hip roof that connects at right angles to the main roof. The building mass, consisting of two storeys and an attic, is cantilevered at the level of the floor of the first storey. By only undercellaring the rear building volume over its full width, a 'split-level' arrangement was created. The plinth, the walls of the undercellared section and a small extension under a lean-to roof against the north-east facade are constructed of white-rendered brick. Above this the walls consist of horizontal pine components, which are half-lap notched and placed at right angles to each other. Their ends are staggered and shortened, creating a decorative profile. The ends of the uppermost components are functional, as they serve as consoles supporting the roof overhang. The end grain of the components is painted red, window and door surrounds, edge boards and flower boxes green, and the frames and the underside of the roof overhangs white. All gable end facades have a symmetrical layout, with the gable tops equipped with vertical boarding. The mostly original single and composite windows have glazing bars with transoms above the main lights (except for the attic windows). These are both single and double casement windows and top-hung windows. Some windows are flanked by a green-painted surround at half the width of the windows (originally these contained the iron rails of the sliding shutters). The front facade (north-west) is a pointed gable, divided into two by a bulkhead projecting through the gable. On either side of it there are three windows on the ground floor coupled by a green-painted surround. Below them hang original flower boxes, which are decoratively open-sawn on the front with a circular motif. Above the middle of the right window group the name "VLIET EN HOVE" is incised and painted red. The ground floor and first floor are separated by a green-painted cantilever, the end grain of which is painted red. The first-floor wall is set slightly back, forming a balcony. Against the upper edge of the parapet consisting of projecting components are, as with the coupled ground-floor windows, flower boxes placed. On either side of the cross-wall is a balcony door, the right one flanked by side windows and the left one only by a side window on the left. The balcony is covered by a canopy with a lean-to roof, which connects laterally to the main roof. The attic storey has an oval four-pane window. The extension of the north-east longitudinal facade has one window in the middle on the ground floor and two on the first floor. In the part of the facade to the left of the projection is a kitchen door, accessible via a flight of four steps and a landing. To the left of the ground-floor window stands a masonry extension under a lean-to roof. The right part of the longitudinal facade has an extended yellow-brick chimney (half-brick bond), reaching almost to the ridge, protruding through the roof edge. To the left of the chimney is a garden door. To the right of it is a window placed, similar to those on the front facade. The south-west gable end has a masonry stoep of three steps in the middle, provided with a wooden balustrade with decoratively sawn spindles. The single-pane panel door is provided with wrought iron with circular motifs, coupled double side lights with diagonally placed glazing bars and wrought twisted fire bars placed crosswise. The wooden moulded door and window surround with incised decoration is closed at the top by a wooden canopy in a zigzag form, hung from iron rods decorated with spear points. On the canopy above the entrance and against the south corner of the facade hangs an original iron lantern. On the first floor in the middle there are three coupled windows. The attic window with shutter is identical to that on the opposite gable end. The right part of the longitudinal facade has one window and the left part has two. The left of these is provided with a flower box, conforming to those on the front facade. A second chimney is located to the left of the half-hip roof. The top of the rear facade (south-east) is cut off to a half-hip roof. The wooden facade stands on the masonry wall of the cellar, which continues round the corner. On either side of the centrally placed door and in the side walls are cellar windows with wrought iron fire bars. In the interior some original elements have been preserved such as the buffet cabinet, the beam ceiling with incised geometric relief in the living room, the stairwell and the wooden wall with glass-in-lead panels in the back room.

Evaluation

The country house with associated interior components is of general importance due to its cultural-historical value as a representative example of a prefabricated wooden country house in Chalet style from the first decades of the 20th century, in which the blockhaus system is applied and as such is significant for the history of building techniques. The country house is of general importance due to its architectural-historical value owing to the relatively high degree of integrity of the main form, use of materials and detailing, the particular coherence between interior and exterior and the various original interior components. The country house is of importance within the oeuvre of the firm Christoph & Unmack A.G., Niesky O/L in Silesia (Germany), whose wooden houses in the Netherlands are relatively rare. Furthermore, the property is of urban planning significance due to its situation near the Vliet, which has developed into a culturally and historically valuable area of large and small estates and country houses.