The Amsterdam School of architecture should be placed
firmly within modernism together with The Style (De Stijl), New Objectivity (het Nieuwe
Bouwen), Wiener Secession and the Chicago School. It is an expressive style
of architecture, but more vernacular that German Expressionism, that sought to
shape an alternative to the revival styles that were fashionable around 1900.
As such it is part of the New Arts movement that swept continental Europe
around this time (Jugendstil and Art Nouveau) and has great affinity with Art
Deco as it seeks to incorporate the decorative and imaginative within
architecture.
On a long strip of land north of the Le Maire Harbour
a complex of housing for labourers was designed by H.J.M. Wahlenkamp for the
Vereeniging tot het Bouwen van Arbeiderswoningen with expressive use of
ornamental brickwork and white plaster combined with great plasticity.(1911-14)
The housing was treated as in inclusive work of
architecture, with every detail meticulously designed. The long and high
facades are given great plasticity by the use of top gables, dormers and window
bays. The use of coloured brick and white plaster helpfully breaks of the
height. All elements had to be both practical and attractive, as is clear
around the doors that give access to the stairwells.
This block of flats on the Houtrijkstraat was built in
1921 for Woonstichting De Key. It is a typical example of Amsterdam School type
architecture. I don't know the architect, but it has great affinity with the
work of De Bazel.
The treatment of the entrance is both restrained and
decorative (left). Across from the Amsterdam School type building a similar
volume (1925) was built, but in the very typical modern style of Brick Cubism
(right).
The last of the social housing to be built on the
Notweg-pastures was developed by the Municipal Housing Service Amsterdam. The
architect was K.P.C. de Bazel. He designed a similar block in another part of
Amsterdam. The layout takes clear inspiration from the Austro-German Gartenhof
with the Zaandammerplein at its heart and communal garden between the
apartments.
De Bazel designed the Zaandammerplein complex with a
clear demarcation of the ground floor and all the entrances. Bands of black
bricks accentuate the lowest level and create a playful effect especially in
combination with the arched portals that give access to the inner courtyard
gardens and the octagonal windows that flank the entrances. The entrances
themselves (right) have been kept very simple in design with all doors in the
same moss green colour.
The central public space is now a paved square,
although it was originally intended as a public garden with facilities for the
large school that stands at the heart of the complex directly on the
Zaandammerplein. The collective playground that was founded in the 1930s grew
to encompass the whole of this central space and lead to the change into a
paved space from the 1950s onwards. Imagined as a small park like space -akin
to the Austrian examples- I think the place would be greatly improved.
The aim of this -and other similar complexes of social
housing- was to provide up-to-date living conditions with the best facilities
for the working classes. This included a private balcony (shown on the left)
and large windows that could open to let in light and air. Wide arched gateways
(on the right) give access to the inner courtyard gardens and the outer
streets. Designed to best suit pedestrians and cyclists these connections still
work perfectly.
Within the project all street have a distinct kink
preventing long vistas along the street. This isn't possible on the edges of
the Zaandammerplein complex, where it joins the grid streets of the old
Spaarndammerbuurt. De Bazel has used several means of mitigating the
strictness: parts of the facade are brought forward, high vertical window bays
are used together with recedes portion in the facade or a recessed building
line.
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