Winkel (G2), Peperstraat 4

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

To improve traffic flow from the Nieuwestad to the eastern part of the city, the southern wall of the narrow Peperstraat was demolished in 1931-1932. On the initiative of Groningen pastry chef C.J. van Velzen, the site was built with an object consisting of SIX SHOPS AND FLATS ABOVE AND A CAFE, LUNCHROOM AND RESTAURANT for the initiator. Various architects made designs: Gros & Heldoorn, Piet de Vries, S. Roosma, G.J. Veenstra, but the Groninger J. Prummel received the commission and carried out the work in 1934-'35. His design contains both commercial elements (steel windows) and traditional ones (moulded drip mouldings, hipped roofs with slate). Decorative components, such as ironwork, leaded glass and sculptural ornament bear an Art Deco character.

The shop fronts were all altered, some with retention of old components. The shop interiors have all been altered. The upper storeys remained externally intact, except for a few added roof windows. Internally, the dwellings differ in details, such as window frames and the location of bathrooms, probably according to the individual wishes of the original residents. In the 1950s and in 1968, older buildings next to the shops were demolished.

Description

EXTERIOR: Shop and residential building on a rectangular ground plan, extending along the Peperstraat from the Wirdumerdijk to the Weaze. The building has a concrete structure, which on the ground floor is clad with black granite and above with light red brick in half-brick bond. The roof is covered with slate. The window frames of the shop fronts are bronze, the windows on the storeys are steel and the covering of the bay windows is copper. Windows and doors in the rear facade, however, have wooden frames. The building has three storeys plus roof structure, except for the section forming the corner with the Wirdumerdijk, which to emphasise the prominent position at the beginning of the Nieuwestad is one storey higher. The corner of Peperstraat-Weaze is emphasised by a setback and a granite framing of the staircase to the dwellings. The staircase on the Peperstraat is treated in the same way. The prominently located facade on the Wirdumerdijk has three bays. The entrance of the shop front has been altered. However, the original situation can still be recognised. On the second and third storeys are three bay windows with on the first storey ornamental railings in Art Deco and on the fourth storey balconies with steel windows on three sides. The Peperstraat facade of this section is eight bays wide and has on the second storey tall steel windows, framed by green natural stone with French balconies with railings in Art Deco ironwork. The storey height decreases upwards, with the fourth storey constructed to achieve the effect of a mezzanine, which is reinforced by the moulded drip moulding. The windows of the third storey have only natural stone sills and lintels. A natural stone drip moulding separates the third and fourth storeys. The fourth storey has ten windows, whose placement bears no relation to the bay division of the underlying storeys. The transition from this tall section to the lower section on the Peperstraat is made via a setback, which contains the staircase to the flats above. The entrance has a double door clad in bronze with ironwork for the windows. Above the door is a projecting lintel on consoles, decorated with a meander band in relief. The staircase is lit by a narrow and tall window with leaded glass. The setback of this section continues into the roof structure. Above the six shops (with heavily altered fronts) are six slightly recessed dwellings, marked by six pentagonal bay windows, between which are balconies. Between the bay windows are groups of three narrow six-pane windows. On the third storey, the same windows are placed in an uninterrupted series of thirty-six. The facade on the Weaze steps back in height and depth to bridge the height difference between the Peperstraat and the Weaze. On the Weaze, in the middle, is an entrance to the dwellings above. The staircase is lit by a narrow and tall leaded glass window. To the left of the entrance is a small shop, to the right of it two display windows of the corner shop. On the second storey, separated from the ground floor by a stepped band, the dwellings are lit by large windows with different glazing bars. The third storey has here, above a natural stone drip moulding, a series of small windows, which is a repetition of those of the building block at the corner of Wirdumerdijk-Peperstraat. The roof structures have truncated hipped roofs with slate in Maas bond.

INTERIOR: The corner building Wirdumerdijk-Peperstraat is largely in original condition, except for the shop. The roof truss structure remained unchanged. The internal doors retained their simple moulded surrounds and in many cases also the original hinges and fittings. In the living rooms of the flats are coffered ceilings (modern variant thereof) and in the top flat also a wooden wainscot and built-in cupboards. In the kitchen an original Bruynzeel kitchen was preserved. The staircase with wainscoting of concrete enamel is lit by a narrow band of leaded glass windows with a repeatedly occurring Art Deco motif. The remaining dwellings underwent alterations for the current function as a room rental business.

Valuation

Building with shops and flats above of general architectural-historical urban planning and cultural-historical importance:

- because of the architecture in a mixture of commercial and traditional elements;

- because of the Art Deco components such as ironwork and leaded glass;

- because of the prominent location at the beginning of the Nieuwestad and the Wirdumerdijk, along the Peperstraat and the Weaze;

- as an example of an urban planning intervention from the 1930s to promote traffic flow;

- as an important work by Prummel, which shows great similarity to the building on Guldenstraat-Zwanestraat in Groningen;

- because of the preserved interiors or components thereof.