hoofdgebouw

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

Description of complex component 1

Description

A FACTORY BUILDING situated parallel to the quay of the Rijnhaven, connected by a steel air bridge to a grain silo building located behind it (monument number 530960). The various functions in the milling factory's production process are grouped in the elongated factory building from east to west, giving it a composite character. This is expressed both in alternations in the main form, and in the facade treatment and in the variation in reinforced concrete construction methods. The main layout and details of the complex are adapted to the climatological requirements for specific functions. For example, the southern side of the mill in the building (wide central section) was kept closed to maintain a constant temperature, while the northern facade contains largely windows. The facade sections are alternately executed flat and closed or with more expression through the emphatic application of a visible concrete grid in the facade. Furthermore, closed facade sections are enlivened by special details such as projecting square little windows and small balconies in the southern facade. The facades of the volumes are finished with a sturdy reinforced concrete cornice that curves out slightly. The building is partially cellar-ed and mainly flat-roofed, with the application of curved shell roofs and diagonal roof or canopy forms as accents. The mill together with the cleaning department to its east occupies the large central section of the factory building, which has six storeys. To the west, a flower silo complex is housed in the central section. The central section, comprising 27 window bays, is regularly laid out according to the concrete construction of columns and beams visible in the facades, which is filled in with (shock) concrete window panels. On the eastern side, a motor house is included for the operation of installations in this building section, with the associated transformer house projecting from the northern facade and covered with four shell roofs. The closed rear facade at the location of the mill on the landside repeats the regular facade division of the northern facade but is closed by deeply recessed concrete elements which are alternately provided with small, projecting light openings. The flower silos (cells with square cross-section with rounded corners) are recognizable in the rear facade, which projects at that location and where, in deviation from the material use elsewhere, an upstanding brick external wall is applied. On either side, the central section is terminated by vertically oriented gable buildings. The eastern volume, built for silos for raw wheat with a square cross-section, distinguishes itself externally only by very closed facades and matches the main volume in external dimensions. The transversely placed tower-like volume on the western side has 10 storeys and was originally provided on the roof edge with the lettering "CO.OP". The volume houses the sack goods warehouse, whereby the substructure has closed facades provided with regularly distributed small square windows across the facades. The superstructure of three storeys contained supplementary functions, offices, a staff canteen, a laboratory and a service dwelling. This volume is distinctly designed on the basis of a visible concrete skeleton that is largely filled in with window panels. The building sections are provided with staircases, recognizable by the glass-opened facades at that location or by rows of windows. Adjoining the quay against the northern facade a transport bridge (gangway) for the transport of end products to ships in the harbor. The structure stands perpendicular to the building on columns near the quay edge. In the rear facade of the western volume an entrance framed with masonry provided with a stoop staircase with a canopy on tubular steel columns. In the western facade a loading platform under a canopy. In the interior of the factory original staircases are present and some original doors remain. Originally wooden floors were used in the mill for easy routing for machinery and installations. In the current state the floors are partially absent or the floors have been replaced with other materials.

Valuation

FACTORY BUILDING from 1948-1952 of general significance as an exemplar of reconstruction from 1940:

- on account of the cultural-historical and architectural-historical significance as a historical-functional component of the Latenstein Milling Factory complex;

- on account of architectural and cultural-historical value as a well-preserved example of a post-war factory building for grain-processing industry, which also retains the associated gangway and in which the efficient grouping of building sections, the various concrete construction methods and the particular architectural treatment per building section are characteristic;

- on account of typological and building-historical significance because the factory building contributes to the illustrative value of the industrial complex in which various types of silos were applied;

- on account of ensemble values because the factory building, due to its appearance and historical function, possesses important visual and historical-functional coherence with the associated silo building of the factory, and important urban planning value as distinctive and image-defining elements in the historical industrial landscape at the Rhine and Maas harbours.