Woonhuis, Trompenbergerweg 35

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

The country house, originally named "Zonnegaard", was built in 1919 to the design of architect J. van Laren at the commission of Mr John Frensel Wegener from Amsterdam. The house is featured in the photo book "Nieuw Nederlandsche Bouwkunst" by Prof. Ir. J.G. Wattjes from 1924. This book also contains an image of a scout clubhouse designed by Van Laren. Van Laren, born in 1877, was employed for a considerable time with the Public Works department of the municipality of Amsterdam, where he also worked for several years in the office of architect J.M. van de Mey. From 1917 he worked as an independent architect in Hilversum. In 1925 he received an honourable mention in the "Architecture" section of the "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs & Industriels Modernes" in Paris. Of the country house at Trompenbergerweg 35 in Hilversum, both the "Specification and conditions" and the original building drawings have been preserved. The exterior and interior were designed by Van Laren as a coherent whole. The building has undergone scarcely any alterations over the years.

Description

Situation The Trompenbergerweg is located in a green, spaciously laid-out district on the north side of Hilversum. The road is semicircular in shape with detached villa and country house buildings along it. The country house at Trompenbergerweg 35 is situated on the southwest side of the road in the northeast corner of the plot. The garden has differences in level. On the street side (northeast side and northwest side) the garden is at ground level. On the south and west side the garden is at a lower level. The house is surrounded there by a terrace, on which brick steps leading down to the garden have been provided in three places. The box and yew are part of the original design. On the west side of the house, some fruit trees from the former orchard remain.

Exterior

The country house has a butterfly plan on the rear side (south side) in the corner of the plan, a quarter-circular section that extends into the roof. The house is built in dark handmade brick. It has a high and steep roof, which in appearance already begins at storey height, with a "kink" from attic level onwards. It is covered with red improved Dutch tiles. The roof of the quarter-round section ends in a flat roof. Distinctive are the roof tiles that become progressively smaller towards the top. The roof gutters have a plastic design, related to the Amsterdam School. The house has two projecting sections under gabled roofs, in which respectively the main entrance with vestibule and toilet (street side, northeast side) and side entrance with kitchen (northwest side) are situated. The quarter-round section on the rear side (south façade) is accentuated on both sides by two projecting, diagonally placed brick chimneys that extend from the ground floor to roof ridge height. The chimneys are counterbalanced by projecting brick buttresses that flank the gable ends from the ground floor (in the form of flower boxes) to attic level. The façades are laid out almost symmetrically, except for the northwest façade (rear entrance and kitchen) and the northeast façade (main entrance). Distinctive is the rhythm of the windows in the rear façade with on the ground floor the large combined window and door arrangement of the garden room. The house still has the original windows and doors, except for the two roof dormers added in 2006 on the attic at the front of the house. Distinctive is the use of steel glazing bar windows, the original wooden roller shutters and the design of bay windows in the gable ends, in which flower boxes are integrated. The original fittings and fastenings are also present throughout and the wooden exterior shutters have been preserved. The main entrance in the northeast façade has been preserved intact. This has a tiled step with rounded bollards. On the right side the original door bell is still present, on the left the original house number. The front door has a semicircular top, surrounded by three recessed stretcher and roller courses. The door is a wooden panelled door with upper and lower door and a hexagonal window with door knocker. The thresholds and lower doorpost are of hard stone. According to specification the door is fitted with "best English ironwork", which is particularly visible in the interior. Above the door, at the level of the stairwell, is a simple leaded-glass window.

Interior

The country house at Trompenbergerweg 35 is particularly important because of its very well-preserved interior, which has been designed as a unity with the exterior. The style is inspired by English country houses, combined with the formal language of the Amsterdam School. Both the floor plan layout of the building and the detailing date virtually unchanged from the time of construction. In the interior, the service areas are situated on the street side and the living spaces on the garden side. Many rooms have wooden beams or coffered ceilings. The internal doors are largely still present and in most cases have the original fittings and fastenings. Striking are the heavy wooden door and window surrounds, gently curved in form, which are applied right up to the attic. In many places in the house the original radiators of the central heating are still present, with some of the radiators, both on the ground floor and upper floor, being equipped with original cladding.

Ground floor

The front door leads to the vestibule. Next to the vestibule is a niche with the toilet. In the vestibule wooden cassette panelling has been applied. The original letterbox is still present. Vestibule, toilet and hall have black-and-white marble floors and white marble skirting boards. In the toilet the original wall tiles are present.

In the hall is the oak staircase designed in Amsterdam School style with stylised newel post. The staircase has two landings: a small landing after the first three steps, after which the staircase turns half a turn and a large landing at the level of the leaded-glass window. There the staircase turns half a turn again and three steps lead to the landing. The stair balustrade on the right side of the staircase was initially provided with panels at the bottom.

From the hall, various rooms are accessible, either directly or via a small corridor: the garden room, the kitchen, the so-called "gentlemen's room" and formerly (presumably) the cloakroom. The cloakroom has an arched entrance without a door, a slightly raised oak parquet floor and a wooden coffered ceiling. The gentlemen's room is provided with an oak parquet floor and beam ceiling. The fireplace arrangement is situated in a niche with wooden surround. In the niche are wall linings, so-called "inglenooks" (bench seats beside the fireplace) and a brick fireplace surround with mantelpiece. The garden room has a beam ceiling, parquet floor, two small niches and a fireplace niche with wooden surround. The original hearth with brick ornamental brickwork is still present, but behind later-added cupboards. Striking in the garden room is the semicircular curtain wall with steel glazing bar windows and double door to the terrace. The niche at the fireplace gives access to the hall and the dining room. The dining room is situated between the garden room and the kitchen. There is a wooden beam ceiling, an oak parquet floor and a fireplace surround with antique tiles, which was designed in this way in 1919. Next to the dining room is the kitchen. The kitchen still has a number of original wooden cupboards, flooring and radiators. Originally there was a separate scullery, but this has been joined to the kitchen. From the kitchen the dining room and the small corridor to the hall are accessible, but there is also a door here to the pantry. In the pantry a wooden cupboard and a "staff toilet". Further there is an external door and access to the cellar. The cellar consists of a corridor and three rooms: the boiler room, the coal store and the storage cellar. In the storage cellar the original cupboards and shelving are still present.

Upper floor and attic

On the upper floor there are four bedrooms, provided with original built-in cupboards and beam ceilings. One bedroom is connected to the bathroom. This is the original arrangement. A particular detail is the bathroom furniture still dating from 1919. Further noteworthy are the fireplaces in two of the bedrooms and the niches in which washbasins and cupboards are located. Also striking is the design of the windows in the roof dormers: while the window itself is mounted vertically, the surrounds follow the "kink" in the roof. The particularly designed bay windows in the gable ends have already been discussed in the exterior section. On the upper floor nearly all the original heating radiators (both with and without cladding) are still present. The staircase to the attic is in completely original condition. This is likewise provided with stylised posts, somewhat simpler than the staircase newel post in the hall. In the attic the original roof truss structure is still intact. Originally there was one room, the so-called "maid's room". This is located on the rear side of the building with a storage room next to it. In 2006 the attic was partially made suitable for further use, for which two new roof dormers were added and a section of the original internal wall was removed.

Valuation

The brick country house dating from 1919 with butterfly plan to the design of architect J. Van Laren, which has been very well preserved, is of architectural historical importance because of:

- the well-preserved exterior with high roof section and virtually completely original façade layout and detailing such as steel glazing bar windows, roller shutters, bay windows with flower boxes and front door; particularly to be noted is the plastically designed rear side of the house with the quarter-round building section between chimneys and the gable ends between buttresses; this plasticity is enhanced by the sunken garden;

- the exceptionally well-preserved interior, in which only minor alterations have been made over the years. This applies both to the floor plan and to part of the finish of floors, walls, ceilings, internal doors, staircases and the roof truss structure. Also still present are original interior elements such as fireplace arrangements (partly still present behind later cladding), various (built-in) cupboards, an original bathroom fixture, radiators and the associated cladding.