Amsterdamsch Tehuis voor Arbeiders

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

Amsterdamsch TEHUIS voor (ongehuwde) Arbeiders (A.T.V.A) [Amsterdam Home for (unmarried) Workers], constructed on the Marnixstraat in 1918-'19 to a design in Rationalist style by J.E. van der Pek on behalf of the Vereeniging Amsterdamsch Bouwfonds [Amsterdam Building Association]. N.B. The building was constructed with the aid of housing funds. The municipality had already taken a decision on this in 1913. Due to the war, the building was not completed until 1918. The home contained 360 single-occupancy bedrooms of 2.20 x 2.90 m. with a fixed wash basin, furthermore a conversation room, a reading and writing room, a dining room and a coffee room.

In 1979 the building underwent major renovation.

Description

Home constructed on an irregular ground plan and in brick, consisting of four pavilions placed next to each other and built higher, executed as projecting sections (thus two corner and two central projecting sections) connected to each other by three intermediate, lower-built shallow building units. The projecting pavilions have a basement, a ground floor, an entresol and three storeys. The intermediate buildings have a basement, a ground floor, two upper storeys and an attic storey. The corner projecting sections are covered by a hipped roof; the central projecting sections by a flat roof; the intermediate buildings by a mansard roof. The projecting gutter lines are supported by partly wooden and partly masoned ornamental corbels.

The two central pavilions each have a large round-arched entrance section. As the sandstone moulding of the arch indicates, the left entrance provides access to the residential house; the right to the dining house. Both porches have a staircase, that is to say a sandstone staircase of ten steps with heavy stair railings faced with natural stone at the top. The staircases in turn provide access to a segmental entrance. The porches have a barrel vault with porter's lodges (now bricked up) on the left and right of the staircase. The residential house porch still has one original door to the basement; the dining house porch still has two doors in original condition. The building units located between the pavilions have a masoned parapet on the street side with iron railings placed at regular intervals behind which stairs lead to the basement. To the left of the building is a small gate and an iron railing providing access to the rear area. The middle intermediate building unit has an entrance with a staircase at the rear. The rectangular window openings regularly distributed over the facade are furnished with six-pane sash windows with six- or three-pane fanlights. The large round-arched window openings in the ground floor of the intermediate buildings are furnished with windows with a different glazing bar arrangement. The entire facade is provided with projecting ornamental brickwork, either in a matching or contrasting colour.

Valuation

Amsterdamsch Tehuis voor Arbeiders of general interest by reason of cultural and socio-historical value as a representative example of a home intended for housing certain population categories as this was encouraged by the municipal authority in the twenties of the 20th century. Also of architectural and typological value. Furthermore of significance in the oeuvre of J.E. van der Pek.