Woonhuis, Berkenweg 6

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

On the south side of the Berkenweg, parallel to and separated from the street by a shallow garden and a simple iron railing, six adjoining MIDDLE-CLASS DWELLINGS are situated in a row.

These dwellings were designed in 1900 by the contractor/architect W. Salomons, known in Amersfoort, on commission from B. de Graaf.

At that time the houses were situated in the countryside at the foot of the Amersfoortse Berg. Nowadays this row of houses has become rather isolated from an urban planning perspective due to large-scale office construction on the north-east side of the Berkenweg. The facades are constructed in an architectural style showing neo-Renaissance influences; red machine-made brickwork alternates with imitation ashlar courses and imitation quoins and closing stones. The three coupled roof dormers are decorated with a classical framework and volute cheeks. The corner risalits possess a mansard roof with chalet elements, while the panel doors are provided with Art Nouveau wrought-iron door grilles.

Deviating from the construction drawing, the crowning elements on the risalits are missing and two-light windows have largely been replaced by single-light windows. Various authentic elements have been preserved in the interior.

Description

A row of six adjoining MIDDLE-CLASS DWELLINGS, each three bays wide, are built on an almost rectangular elongated floor plan, on which there is one storey with a flattened hipped roof. The corner risalits, which stand at right angles to the elongated main form, possess one-and-a-half storeys and a mansard roof with chalet elements. The mansard roof and flattened hipped roof are covered with blue interlocking tiles. At equal distances from the centre, two risalits are positioned in front of the elongated main form, which contain the entrances of the four middle dwellings. These risalits consist of two storeys with a flat roof. Against the left side facade a still original wooden conservatory is built on.

The main form and risalits are finished with a wooden profiled facade cornice on brackets. All windows are, except for one round-arched window, rectangular in form and are, like the doors, provided with fanlights. The windows in the recessed main form are spanned by flat arches with large quoins, with tile mosaics in the spandrels. The windows in the corner risalits are spanned by segmental arches. The windows in the first storey are provided with blinds.

The front facade (north-east side) is symmetrical in design and stands on a plastered plinth. Only the details of the corner risalits are different. The front facade can be subdivided into twenty more or less uniform window bays. The three outer bays project, as do the seventh and eighth and the thirteenth and fourteenth bays. This division is accentuated in the second storey/roof section by variation in the roof and window forms. In the left risalit there is a vertical rectangular wooden gable cladding, and in the right risalit round-arched gable work on struts. In the left risalit there is a double rectangular window, flanked by small spandrels with brickwork ornament, in the right risalit there is a double opening round-arched window. The coupled roof dormers in the recessed flattened hipped roof are located on the dividing lines between the fourth and fifth bay, the tenth and eleventh and the sixteenth and seventeenth bay. They thus also mark the wall divisions between the dwellings. Doors are provided in the risalits and in the third and eighteenth bay. The panel doors are provided with ornamental wrought iron in Art Nouveau motifs. The doors in the risalits are marked by braced canopies; the doors in the corner risalits recede slightly.

The rear facade is characterized by the built-on, one-storey-high sheds at each property. The main mass is elongated, with as on the front side risalits at the ends, roof dormers interrupt the roof sections.

The left side facade of the row of dwellings belongs to the property Berkenweg 6. It consists of one storey with above it a mansard roof. Two built-in chimneys pierce the roof. For the left part of the facade a conservatory with leaded glass windows has been placed.

The right side facade has essentially the same design as the left side facade. A conservatory is missing here, however.

The property Berkenweg 6 was intended for the client and the decorations in this property are relatively richer than the other properties. Various elements have been preserved unchanged, such as natural stone fireplaces, tile floors, stuccoed ceilings, profiled doors and leaded glass windows.

Valuation

The row of middle-class dwellings is of general importance due to its architectural-historical value as a remarkably well-preserved example of a now rare building type in conjunction with an eclectic architectural style, in which alongside neo-Renaissance characteristics, details in chalet style, classicism and Jugendstil have been executed. Of cultural-historical value as an expression of a development in Dutch working-class housing.