Haka-gebouw

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

Built in 1931-1932, a BUSINESS BUILDING with GRAIN SILO and GARAGE commissioned by the Coöperatieve Groothandelsvereniging De Handelskamer (HAKA) to a new-objective design by architects H.F. Mertens and J. Koeman, in close collaboration with HAKA director J. Warmolts. During construction, carried out by NV Hollandse Betonmaatschappij, a concrete pump was used for the first time in the Netherlands.

N.B. On the roof of the office section, a simple concrete lift house was placed in 1948 in the same manner as the main building.

On the rear side, the former small canteen building was replaced in 1962 by an extension comprising two storeys across the full width of this office volume, to a functional design by Utrecht architect P. Wit, likewise with steel window frames and a flat roof (without compromising the monumental character of the main building).

Description

The HAKA building is erected on a narrow building plot, 100 metres long and only 15 metres wide, between the former Lekhaven and the Vierhavenstraat, on a rectangular plan with a concrete skeleton, the skeleton and walls being cast with a concrete pump. The concrete facades of the building were, after removal of the formwork, not plastered as usual but bushhammered and whitened. The property has an underbuild clad in rectangular brown ceramic tiles. The window frames of the strip windows, loading doors and circular windows are of steel in narrow profiles and have small glazing bars. The building has flat roofs and is fully underbuilt. On the front (Vierhavenstraat) the upper storeys cantilever 2.5 metres over the ground floor. On the rear side only the central volume and the factory volume cantilever. The height at which this cantilever is situated was determined by the functional requirement of free passage underneath for goods wagons, which ran over the track beneath the building. The level of the loading platforms on the ground floor corresponds to the loading height of the railway wagons. The original multifaceted functions of the building - factory (coffee roastery, tea blending, packaging departments), office, warehouse and grain silo - are expressed in the alternating application of open and more enclosed building volumes. The building is composed of three rectangular building volumes: the factory section on the north side, the shared stairwell and silo in the middle and the office section in the south. The factory section comprises 6 storeys. Only the most north-western corner is built one storey higher. Further north on the roof is situated a rectangular 'penthouse' with strip windows all around and an overhanging roof.

In the factory section across the full width of the front facade are narrow horizontal window strips with tile strips between the windows. At the northern end of each window strip on each storey is a rectangular window with steel grille work. On the ground floor are five steel loading doors sliding on rails and on either side of the loading doors fitted with rectangular steel windows. Slightly above ground level are low basement windows with steel grille work. On the rear side on each storey window strips conforming to the front, except that on the ground floor there are no loading doors but two loading balconies. Moreover, the third and fourth storeys are fitted with a small balcony with open steel railing beneath the strips. In the middle is the grain silo, which is composed of three largely closed building volumes and is built higher. The stairwell is situated in the most northern, semi-circular part facing the street with on the south gable on each storey a circular window and marked by a tall flagpole fixed in the middle of the gable just below the eaves. Directly beside it a closed narrow disc, which towers above the building. Access to the stairwell is situated inside between both volumes and is accessible via a concrete staircase with round treads. The most southern silo section consists of a recessed cubic building volume of four storeys. The closed facade surface is interrupted on the upper two storeys by respectively three and four circular windows. On the former harbour side the gable is broken through by a vertical strip of pairs of loading doors stacked above each other with a steel lifting beam at the top. Beside it, on the lowest and topmost storey four circular windows. On the south gable is attached a steel emergency staircase. The southern office volume is 5 storeys high and has on the street side a cantilevered middle section with broad window strips, which end on either side in a balcony. The parapet of the lower cantilevered section runs in the northern direction to the end of this building section. Above this, in the non-cantilevered facade surface, are on the right on each storey four small cross windows and on the left on each storey a narrow vertical window. The ground floor is, conforming to the factory section, provided with loading doors (three) and just above ground level small, rectangular basement windows. The set-back main entrance to the office is located north under a large circular window with vertical glazing bars and is marked by a social-realist relief by sculptor Hildo Krop. The representation, a man controlling a rearing horse, symbolised the cooperative, which 'with a strong hand controlled social forces and placed them at the service of the whole people'. In the narrow vertical windows of the stairwell are four stained glass windows designed by L. Visser with representations which likewise refer to the cooperative system.

The end south gable of the building is articulated vertically by a narrow vertical window strip to the right of centre. On the left on the first, second and third storeys in the gable are three vertical windows with tiled window sills.

In the interior are notable among other things: the representative travertine hall, the tiled stairwells with stained glass, the wooden wall panelling in the corridors, the tiled toilet clusters on the floors of the Office wing and the paternoster lifts. The site is closed off on the north side by a rectangular one-storey GARAGE BUILDING with, perpendicular to it, towards the factory site, a projecting curved end, in which was originally a BREAK ROOM for women. The garage, which is connected to the main building via a gateway in the building line of the front facade, is, conforming to the main building, erected in concrete with a tiled underbuild, steel (strip) windows and doors and provided with a flat roof.

Valuation

The HAKA building with associated garage building, executed in new-objective style, is of general importance due to its architectural and cultural-historical value as well as being important due to its construction-technical and innovative value. Furthermore of situational value due to the distinctive location in the Vierhavengebied associated with its original function. Within the oeuvre of architect Mertens the building occupies an important position.