Casa Cara (156)/Villa Anna (158)

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

Double TOWNHOUSE "Casa Cara" (156) and "Villa Anna" (158) from 1902 in Neo-Renaissance style designed by architect C.F. van Hoof for the Ironmongers and Steam Boilermakers Gebr. Deprez, whose business, the smithy and factory of Deprez, was located in 1998 to the west of the houses at Lange Nieuwstraat 172-174.

Description

The two-storey double house has a symmetrical facade arrangement with two corner risalits and is built of red machine-made brick. On the pitched roof lie black Tuile-du-Nord tiles.

The plinth and window sills are of hard stone. The facades are articulated horizontally by stretcher courses and white-painted plasterwork cornices. Vertically, the facades are articulated per bay by brick pilasters. The front facade has in the middle as the division between the two dwellings a pilaster with built-in zinc gutter with lion's head as crowning under the gutter line. To the right and left of this two sash windows with leaded lights in the fanlight. The windows have a worked lintel under a relieving arch with ornamental stucco infill.

Besides these windows, both houses have a worked panel door. The fanlight is worked as a climbing composed window in a double revealing arch and furnished with leaded lights depicting swans in a water feature. The corner risalits have on the ground floor a three-sided bay window. On the first floor this transforms into a rectangular narrower bay window with quarter-round side balconies. These have a balustrade of vase-shaped balusters with diamond-shaped heads at the corners. The glazing bars of the bay windows differ from the other windows. The arched fanlights have stylised floral motifs. Above the lintel follow three diamond-shaped heads, a moulded cornice and a vaulted zinc roof. The balustrade of all windows on this floor is furnished with white-plastered vase-shaped balusters. The windows have the same decorative execution as those on the ground floor. Beside the bay window two narrow sash windows, above the door one window and above the two windows beside the door a coupled six-light window. In the relieving arch a keystone is added which transforms into a short pilaster. Thereby the frieze under the moulded gutter line on blocks is divided into equal fields with a staggered finish of white and brown blocks. In the roof plane above the six-light windows a brick dormer window under a gabled roof. The arched window has a three-light fanlight with rollwork and spout with wrought-iron scroll anchor and pirn. The corner risalits have a gable with stepped spout, rollwork and zinc corner pirns. In the masonry stucco cartouches with the name of the house and in a double round arch-shaped revealing arch a composed six-light window. Above this a slit window with lintel and wrought-iron scroll anchor. The roof ridges are finished with an iron crête.

The side facades of the house are accentuated by a large three-sided bay window with T-windows over two storeys. The flat roof thereof has an iron crête; the chimney rises above it and is fixed to the roof by a wrought-iron tie rod. Under the gutter line of the side facades a double dentil course is laid in masonry. The tall narrow chimney with ornamental wall anchors is indicated in the masonry as a pilaster.

The rear facades have a conservatory at the corner. At the house number 156 this is still the original with diagonally arranged decorative strips, arched fanlights and a carved gutter line. The conservatory of the adjacent house has been enlarged and has a flat roof. Above the other conservatory a balcony with doors and wooden balustrade. The middle section is dominated by a two-and-a-half-storey extension under a flat roof, dating from the time of construction. The storey heights of these spaces, in which among other things the sanitary facilities are housed, do not correspond with those of the rest of the house. In this part there are as a half basement two panel doors. Above these two storeys with arched windows. Above the extension there is still a low three-part window and above this an arched window.

Beside this extension both houses have a composed six-light window above which a T-window. In the roof plane small dormers are placed under a sloping roof.

Both houses have an intact interior. A complete survey has been made of the dwelling number 158, of the house at number 156 only the ground floor has been recorded.

Interior no. 156, "Casa Cara".

Behind the front door is a draught lobby. On the floor and as wainscoting white marble. The walls are furnished with stucco with fields and in the corners Neo-Louis XVI flowers. On the left and right a white-painted statue on a pedestal. The right one has on the console the inscription Thalia, a muse. This female figure carries a mask in her hand. The left statue represents a woman with a globe in her raised hand. The inscription on the console is no longer legible. The doors to the corridor beyond have etched glass with a representation of birds in a hilly landscape. The fanlight has a curved form with Neo-Classical carving. This window and the side windows are also furnished with figurative etched glass. In the corridor a stair with wooden balusters. On the main baluster stands an Art Nouveau bronze figurine with torches. A copper plate bears the signature; Chout de la Fauvette-par J. Guillot. In the front room to the left of the front door there is on the ceiling stucco with Neo-Empire motifs. This whole is framed by whiplash motifs and otherwise Jugendstil stencilled paintings in pastel tints and gold. The doors with diamond-shaped heads are stained in two colours of wood. The moulded wooden frame is painted as if it were walnut.

The sliding doors between front and back room are hidden behind the wallpaper but are still there. The conservatory has the original size with on both sides Jugendstil leaded lights with cathedral glass depicting swans and lotus flowers. On the floor terrazzo. The walls are partly painted in pastel tints with golden lines, roses and in Jugendstil lettering the name Casa Cara. Two walls are furnished with a wall covering. The largest is signed P.N. van den Boer, 1905. It is oil on linen. The painting depicts a pastoral scene. In the foreground a lake with a man in a rowing boat, further a ruin of a crenellated tower, a small house, hills in the background and a hot air balloon on the horizon. The other painting is narrow and shows in an accidented environment swans in a lake.

Interior no. 158, "Villa Anna".

Behind the front door is a draught lobby. On the floor and as wainscoting white marble. The walls are furnished with stucco with fields and Neo-Louis XVI flowers in the corners. The doors to the corridor beyond have etched glass with a representation of birds and larches. The fanlight has a curved form with Neo-Classical carving. This window and the side windows are also furnished with figurative etched glass. In the corridor a stair with wooden balusters. On the left the door to the former consulting room. This contains a chimney piece of black and green marble, on the ceiling Neo-Empire stucco. Behind this after the stair the access to the kitchen. The kitchen still has the original wooden chimney piece, sink and kitchen cabinets. The whole is tiled in white and bright blue, the tiles rotated at 45 degrees. A Jugendstil blue-white decorative band with whiplash motif completes the whole. On the right side of the corridor are the doors to the front and back room. To the front room these are double doors. All doors are furnished with diamond-shaped heads and framed by carved wooden door frames. Between both rooms there are sliding doors with bevelled glass. The window sills are executed in marble, the copper hanging and closing hardware has Neo-Renaissance forms. In the front room is a chimney piece with Tuscan columns in white with green/yellow marble. The same chimney piece in the back room in livery colour with red marble. This chimney piece has a top cornice with diamond-shaped heads, triglyphs and metopes, above this a mirror. The ceilings have moulded borders and rosettes as in the aforementioned room. The panel door to the back room and the same door to the scullery at the end of the corridor are furnished with frosted mousseline glass. To the back room is built a large conservatory. The conservatory was originally smaller but has been enlarged in the same style. In the fanlights of the side wall are leaded light windows of cathedral glass with Jugendstil representation of swans and lotus flowers. Under the stair is the door to the basement. The house is half-cellared. The ceiling consists of brick barrel vaults on steel beams. On the ground grey stone flags. At the front is a space with on two sides arched brick bins for wine storage. In the middle a small cabinet with fly screen and porcelain knob. In the space adjoining the rear facade some low brick bins for storage. Adjoining this a space that originally extended further but was later bricked up. Above are the bedroom floor, an attic and a walkable attic space. On the first floor is among other things a bedroom suite with sliding doors with Art Deco glazing. These are reused and come from a house in Breda. In the back corner a striking corner chimney piece with severe Jugendstil decoration. In the middle back room a renovated bathroom with a separate space for the toilet, this is still original. The toilet stands on a raised platform, the terrazzo floor follows with a grey marble edge the bevelled corners thereof. The space is tiled with blue-white rhomboidal set tiles and a Jugendstil decorative band as in the kitchen. The iron reservoir is supported on cast iron consoles with Neo-Renaissance scrollwork.

The front gardens of the houses are screened by a wrought-iron ornamental fence. The entrance to both houses is preceded by a double wrought-iron gate between cast iron posts with the name of the house worked into it.

Valuation

The double townhouse is of general interest. It has cultural-historical importance as an example of a socio-economic and typological development, namely the establishment of manufacturer's houses within the urban fabric. The building has great architectural-historical value because of the style and as an example of the work of the architect. Moreover, it is very important because of the use of materials and the ornamentation, in particular the polychrome decorations in the interior. Finally, the house is important because of the exceptional intactness of interior and exterior and in relation to the structural integrity of the urban environment. As such, it is extremely rare.