Oceaanhuis (Vm. Stokvisgebouw)

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

An OFFICE BUILDING created in two phases, originally known as the "Stokvis building" and realized in 1909 for the benefit of N.V. Handelsmij. R.S. Stokvis & Zonen Ltd. designed by architects J. Verheul Dzn. and C.N. van Goor with two storeys in Transition architecture, but after war damage in 1942 partly rebuilt and extended in 1946-1948 to the present "Oceaanhuis" with three storeys designed by H. Geistdorfer from 1942 in Traditionalist style.

N.B. Of the original ancillary building with workshops, warehouses and auxiliary post office, only a wall on the Westzeedijk remains, which is not part of the protected components. After the firm Stokvis vacated its office building in 1974, the former secondary entrance on the Westzeedijk was put into use as a second main entrance, the high passage for lorries was closed, and the interior was largely altered, while retaining the original main staircase and the covered courtyard.

Description

The office building Oceaanhuis (formerly Stokvis building) is erected on a square ground plan and comprises three storeys, a basement and a partial third storey under flat roofs. Below, the building is constructed around the original concrete skeleton from 1909 and from the second storey onwards it has a steel skeleton. The facades were erected in 1946-1948 in red brick (originally white Limburg brick) and contain 13 window bays between mason-built colossal pilasters in contemporary order. The ornamental concrete bases of these pilasters were drilled out from the pilasters placed in 1909. The 'waste material' was worked into window frames, pilaster capitals and roof edging. The pilasters are furnished with a decorative capital. The windows are set in steel profiles with rectangular glazing bars and the window frames are 'sunk' in concrete. Between the bases is a window strip for lighting the basement. At the height of the ground storey are tall rectangular windows, at the height of the first and second storeys somewhat lower rectangular windows. The windows of the second storey are slightly arched. Above the window bays are very tall mason-built rollers. The facades are finished with a profiled concrete cornice. Beside the outer pilasters are blind facade strips, in which only the north and south facades at the height of the first and second storeys contain a rectangular cross window with rounded corners. The original main entrance is situated in the north facade (Heiman Dullaertplein) in the middle (wider) bay, which is flanked by two narrower window bays. The entrance consists of a large double glazed door in a steel profile conforming to the windows. Between the door and the window of the first storey and between the windows of the storeys is ornamental diamond-patterned concrete applied in this and flanking window bays. In the south facade (nowadays Westzeedijk), which has identical articulation to the north facade, there is no ornamental brickwork between the window sections. The east and west facades are virtually identical and likewise contain 13 window bays.

In the interior behind the entrance on the north side a travertine staircase which on both sides around the originally elliptical porter's lodge (of which only the rear wall remains) leads to the central hall with convex walls. The hall has a natural stone floor and travertine wall panelling against walls and pillars. At the end of the hall is - around the lift shaft - the central staircase with granite staircase alongside which is a low black marble skirting and reddish-brown marble wall panelling up to just above the copper handrail. Behind the staircase is a large square courtyard covered with a curved glazed roof supported by arched iron truss girders. The facades of this courtyard are built in light yellow brick and contain five window bays with, at the height of the basement, low windows, at the height of the ground storey tall rectangular windows and at the height of the first and second storeys lower rectangular windows. These articulated windows with fanlights are set in wooden frames. In the gable north facade of this courtyard is centrally a tall window section with five narrow tall (continuous) windows under tall mason-built rollers. Above this is in the centre a clock face and in the arch above three roundels with star-shaped steel profile. On either side of the central window section are per storey three rectangular windows with a steel profile and rectangular glazing bars. The lifts in the central staircase were originally of iron and glass, allowing daylight to enter through and from the lift shaft via the courtyard.

On the first storey are two smaller halls, originally named "the Tudor hall" and "the Gothic hall" of which the detailing is still original; parquet floors, wooden wall panelling and profiled wooden ceilings. The central hall on the second storey is named "Julianahal", after the sandstone relief with the portrait in profile of Queen Juliana and the text: "Togetherness in hardship and joy. V.d. Heem N.V. 1950". This hall still has the original furnishing with marble wall panelling and concrete coffered ceiling with a window strip all around. Set back on the flat roof at four corners are the four glazed tent roofs of light wells and in a large rectangle the originally narrow glazed gabled roofs above the corridor. (These transparent roofs are largely covered with mastic, the light wells on the underlying floors closed off.)

Valuation

The office building "Oceaanhuis" (originally "Stokvis building"), built in 1909 and after damage during the Second World War partly rebuilt and provided with new facades in 1946-1948 according to the design of architect H. Geistdorfer, is of general importance because of its cultural-historical and architectural-historical value, as well as its typological and building-historical value. Also of situational value because of its prominent location on the Westzeedijk.