Woonhuis, Amersfoortsestraat 117

English translation

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Description

Introduction

In 1913, the Amsterdam dentist W. Romein commissioned the Amsterdam architect J.C. van Epen to build a DWELLING HOUSE, villa type along the Amersfoortsestraat in Soest. Van Epen built mainly dwellings in Amsterdam in the Amsterdam School style, but for his country houses he often chose a more rural, traditional style.

The villa is built on an earthen and partly WALLED EMBANKMENT. In the design the wall is not drawn. In front of the villa, on either side of the drive, there is a sunken, now overgrown garden, originally laid out in the New Architectural style with masonry stairs and water basins.

Description

A detached, partly cellared villa situated at some distance from the Amersfoortsestraat, with a rectangular floor plan of two storeys under a composite, projecting hipped roof covered with Dutch tiles, upon which a Serliana dormer is placed on the front elevation. A bell tower is placed on the ridge. The villa stands on an earthen, partly walled embankment and is surrounded on the front and right side elevation by a terrace. The wall is provided with chamfered buttresses at regular intervals. The terrace is accessed by a masonry stair at the front. On the left side there is a second, but smaller stair. The brick facades are mainly provided with single and coupled wooden windows with fanlights under lintels. The south or front elevation has an asymmetrical layout and is four bays wide. On the second bay from the left is a round-arched entrance feature. To the left of the entrance is a five-light window. To the right of the entrance feature is a five-sided bay window spanning two storeys under a straight roof with equal base. In the second storey of the bay window is a loggia which is opened through round arches and has a masonry balustrade. To the right of the bay window is a covered veranda which is opened with two coupled round arches. The long side of the veranda runs along the right side elevation. Above the veranda is a balcony with masonry balustrade. Two doors give access to the balcony. The right side elevation with the veranda has to the right an extension which was originally a scullery. The rear elevation is characterised by irregular window placement and a narrow risalit of three storeys in the central axis. The risalit, for the benefit of the stairwell, is crowned by a straight roof with higher base and lower ridge and has dentil moulding under the roof edges. The left side elevation is two bays wide and has on the left a five-sided bay window spanning two storeys, conforming to the bay window on the front elevation.

The floor plan layout is in virtually its original state. The most important interior elements are the wooden panelled wainscoting in the various rooms on the ground floor and the original panelled doors.

Valuation

Dwelling house designed by architect J.C. van Epen is of general interest by reason of its cultural and architectural-historical value as an example of an early twentieth-century villa in a rural, traditional style from the 1910s of the 20th century, and also as part of the architect's oeuvre. The villa is well-preserved with regard to principal form, use of materials and detailing of the exterior and interior. Moreover, the villa has situational value by reason of its elevated position in relation to the architectural elements that belong to the original garden layout in the New Architectural Garden style.