pakhuizen

English translation

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Description

Introduction

Phased construction of a series of WAREHOUSES ('Schiehallen') with associated quay, forming part of the Van Nelle complex, built to designs by J.A. Brinkman and J.H. van den Broek, first nine in the years 1942-43 and in 1967 extended on the northwest side with three comparable warehouses. The oldest warehouses were built as part of post-war reconstruction to compensate for storage space in the city centre destroyed by war damage. The warehouses stand on an elongated strip of land acquired in 1943 along the Delfhavensche Schie, and are separated from the boiler house, dispatch building and workshops building by a narrow, concrete dispatch street. Along the Delfhavensche Schie there is a concrete loading and unloading quay with one rail at the quay; the other rail was located at the northern facades of the warehouses, of which only the metal support points remain. Construction was carried out by the firms De Vries Robbé & Co, Betondak and BATO. Originally the oldest series of warehouses had tiled wall cladding in aluminium colour; the cladding on the former exterior facade of warehouse I is now preserved as part of the interior wall of warehouse J.

N.B. The sprinkler installation present in a machine room on the northwest side dates from the 1970s (type Grunau corp./ Norwich, Conn. 1974).

Description

Series of twelve single-storey warehouses (Schiehallen) under coupled, gently curved roofs. The nine southeastern halls (A to I) date from 1942-43, the northwestern three sheds (J to L) from 1967. The halls A to I contain internally an iron truss structure. Each warehouse is 10 bays, approximately 39 metres, deep and 16.5 metres wide. The truss frames have a curved top edge and straight bottom edge, and are riveted at the connections and further bolted. Brackets for hoisting installations are attached to the frames. The partition walls and gable ends are executed in machine-laid brickwork mortared in half-brick bond and provided with reinforcements at the location of the iron structure, which is also locally strengthened with diagonals and cross-bracing. Every three halls are separated by a substantial firewall, which projects in the exterior between the roofs and gable ends. Internally the halls are provided with cast concrete floors. The warehouses are completely plastered white on the outside. The overhanging roofs end on the southeast and northwest sides with upturned gutter lines. Each warehouse is accessible on both sides in the gable ends via portals whose profile mullions bear the inscription "Van Leer NP20" (on the northeast facade) and "Van Leer NP 14" (southwest facade). The facade openings are closed by wide, single sliding doors. In a number of gable ends on the northeast side the original wooden sliding doors are still present. The timber of these clamped doors is painted with aluminium paint and provided with latch doors and iron door handles. For the rest the door openings are closed with steel sliding doors. Above each door there is in the facade a small circular ventilation opening. The buildings are furthermore provided with a continuous tube system on iron brackets and massive supports above the doors for the sprinkler installation. Between the warehouses and the Delfhavensche Schie a concrete loading and unloading quay with a rail.

Valuation

The phased construction mid-twentieth-century series of warehouses (Schiehallen) with associated loading and unloading quay is of general interest on account of architectural and building-historical as well as typological value due to the curved spans and appearance characteristic of the building period; also of interest on account of ensemble value as a visually defining waterfront and historical-functional component of the Van Nelle complex.