Schoolgebouw, Valkeveenselaan 21

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

Former Montessori kindergarten school designed in 1925 by L.C. van der Vlugt in the style of the Nieuwe Bouwen. Shortly after the construction period the schoolhouse was converted into a residential dwelling. This conversion from 1926 presumably resulted in the rectangular extension. Of the original design there remain the characteristic central space with children's rooms at the corners.

The office Brinkman & Van der Vlugt was presumably recommended by Kees van der Leeuw, client of among others the Van Nellefabriek, to the client, the theosophical foundation "De Duinen". In the oeuvre of the architectural office it concerns an early example of the Nieuwe Bouwen.

N.B. The wooden extension between the wooden storage sheds on the north facade is of subordinate importance for the protection.

Description

The former kindergarten school has one storey and features a four-pointed star-shaped floor plan with rectangular extension on the north facade. On either side of the extension are located two rendered outbuildings, the entrance portico and a storage shed, interconnected by a wooden shack. The facades, constructed in reinforced concrete with a plinth laid in bond brickwork, are rendered white. The window frames are executed in wood. The four three-sided star points of the children's rooms at the corners are slightly lower than the central space. On the corners in the higher facades of the central section three horizontal ventilation slots running around the corner with projecting bands. All building components have a flat roof. On the right in the front facade (E) the entrance portico under a canopy with tiled floor and next to the double stacked glass door an L-shaped bench seat. In the former children's rooms composite corner window groups, constructed from two low rectangular windows and above them horizontal window strips with three windows in each facade. In the central facade section a window frame with three tall windows above two horizontal windows. Along the facade line runs low brickwork for planting.

In the middle of the symmetrical left side facade (S) a chimney flue extending above the roof with on either side two single glass doors. The children's rooms have the same composite window frames as on the front facade, with the original two-panel glazing bars in the lower windows. The left outbuilding (kitchen) on the rear facade (W) contains in the sloping plane a double horizontal window frame. Between the lower outbuildings a composite window frame with glass door and fanlight and side lights. The rendered storage shed at the far left has a four-pane window (altered) next to a two-pane horizontal window frame. On the corner a later masonry square chimney.

The right side facade (N) contains, behind the wooden shack extension, a three-pane horizontal window frame. Above the roof projects a square chimney. The original floor plan layout from the time of construction has been largely preserved, as well as several components such as a fireplace in the central space, the interior doors and the tiling of the cloakroom and entrance. In the kitchen there is the original sink unit, a low washbasin and a simple wooden shelf wall cabinet.

Valuation

The former Montessori kindergarten school from 1925 is of general importance due to its cultural and architectural historical value as a largely intact and representative example of the Nieuwe Bouwen from the oeuvre of Van der Vlugt and as a typological expression of special education in the Netherlands and its relation to theosophy.