Atlantic Huis

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:

A prominent MIXED-USE OFFICE BUILDING 'Atlantic-Huis' located on Westplein, built between 1928 and 1930 on the vacant site of the former Hotel Leijgraaff, designed by architect P.G. Buskens in a sober Art Deco style. The Atlantic-Huis was built on behalf of operators W.A.M. Daniël (1862-1939) from Den Haag and H.F. Kerstens (1891-1948) from Rotterdam.

Description:

Large mixed-use office building on a U-shaped floor plan surrounding a largely covered courtyard, constructed with a concrete frame. The building has five storeys, a parking/bicycle basement and a roof truss storey. On the ground floor, besides the spacious hall providing access to the office spaces above, there are a café-restaurant, four shops and originally a showroom (the size of the café) at the north-west corner of the building. The facades above a green natural stone plinth are executed in dark red brick in a recessed bond. The storeys are marked throughout by heavy concrete cordon mouldings. The building is topped by tall gabled roofs with tile covering.

The window and door frames were originally of steel (now, 1995, of plastic). The windows are recessed into the facade and are separated from one another by wall divisions derived from the concrete skeleton with polygonal columns, which articulate the building vertically. The fanlights of the windows on the ground floor are furnished throughout with yellow glass featuring round motifs.

The corners of the building on Westplein are chamfered on the ground floor and rounded above. They are separated from the facade planes by tower-like projections which break through the cordon mouldings and rise one storey higher. In the centre of the west facade is a projecting central section two storeys high and three bays wide, with a natural stone entrance feature. On either side of the entrance are the doors to the adjacent shops.

The main entrance, with three narrow oriels above it and directly above in capital letters the name "ATLANTIC-HUIS", is flanked by two ceramic figures by Willem Brouwer. On the left is depicted the god Hermes, resting on ocean liners, skyscrapers and factories; on the right the god Neptunus with two arches of ocean liners at his feet. Above the roofline the entrance is marked by a raised facade section. This motif is repeated in the facade on Westerstraat.

On Houtlaan lies the monumentally designed access to the parking garage beneath the building. A heavy sliding door fitted with ceramic tiles closes off the interior courtyard. On the courtyard the facades are designed in a businesslike manner with small windows and executed in yellow brick. The stairwell, with grey-brown tiling and a more colourful block motif, is still in virtually original condition, apart from the renovated entrance portal. On the landing is a stained-glass window from the studio Basart en Sloette, Den Haag. The other windows in the stairwell have simple stained glass. The depicted stylised motifs refer to the future, modern industrialised Rotterdam (ships, trains, aeroplanes, smoking chimneys, the White House).

The business premises have been modernised over the years.

Valuation:

The 'Atlantic-Huis' is of general significance because of its architectural and cultural-historical value, and is also typologically important as an early example of a mixed-use office building based on American principles. The building also has significant townscape and urban planning value because of its striking location on Westplein.