Woonhuis, Kennemerplein 1

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 in Eclectic style designed by A. van der Steur from 1865. The building belongs to the construction movement that mainly between 1864 and 1870 resulted in the realisation of eleven villas on the Bolwerken. These Bolwerken were shortly after 1821 transformed according to a design by J.D. Zocher jr. into an undulating public garden in English landscape style. The villa was extended in 1907 on the east side according to a design by J.A.G van der Steur with some additional rooms. At that time the wooden conservatory on the west side, which has since disappeared, was also raised by one storey. The location of this conservatory is still recognisable from the window openings without mouldings. After 1970 the glazing pattern of the windows and the arrangement of the entrance section were altered. At that time the low balustrades of the balcony and flat roof were also raised with a (removable) railing. The building has been in use as an office for many years.

Description

The villa has a ground plan consisting of two equal rectangles positioned with their long sides against each other and offset in relation to one another. The building has two storeys under a composite roof structure. The roof, covered with black Dutch tiles, consists of a number of gabled roofs with overhang and shallow pitch. The masonry consists of whitewashed brick on a dark plinth.

The main form of the villa is determined by a long building volume with longitudinal roof on the rear and two shorter volumes at right angles to it with transverse roofs on the front. The symmetrical front facade (south) has a width of three window bays. Between the two transverse volumes, each the width of one window bay, is a recessed section with longitudinal roof from which a balcony resting on two square pillars projects forward. Beneath this balcony, which is furnished with a low railing, is the main entrance. Like the front facade, the side and rear facades consist of relatively much masonry in which two and three window bays are respectively located. The window bays in the gable ends of the building volumes are emphasised from plinth to gable top by a slightly projecting decoration in neoclassical style. This plastered decoration consists of a layering of balustrades and window surrounds. In the left side facade (west) there is in this window bay a projecting section with worked corner mouldings and main cornice in which terrace doors are located. The upper part functions as a flat roof accessed from the upper storey. The flat roof, like the balcony on the front, has a low iron railing between square pillars.

Almost all windows are rectangular, only the small windows in the gable tops are finished with a semicircle. The surrounds of these windows are connected at the height of the roof edge by toothed horizontal mouldings to the gable corners. The rectangular windows located in the emphasised window bays are of large format. When the glazing pattern was altered, the mullions of the frames, which were essential from a structural point of view, were retained.

Valuation

The Eclectic villa dating from 1865 is of general importance for its cultural and architectural historical value as a good example of a residence for the wealthy from the third quarter of the 19th century, and further for its ensemble value as a characteristic component of the 19th-century villa development that came about especially between 1864 and 1870 in relation to the landscaping of the Bolwerken.