Awesome Aquilegia

Quite a number of plants have been featured as seasonal impressions on this blog. Some plants I love because they remind me of someone, like pansies remind me of my grandmother. And as such I have many favourites. But there is one plant that combines a graceful habit, shapely foliage, lovely dainty flowers with my favourite colours blue and violet: the Aquilegia or Columbine This genus of herbaceous plants in the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) from the northern hemisphere are poisonous, like the closely related Wolfbane or Monkshood (Aconitum). The plants and are therefore not eaten, except for some caterpillars that seem unaffected.  Both genera are characterised by specialised flowers. In the case of Aquilegia the petals are spurred with nectar hidden deep inside the flower. Petals and sepals can be the same colour, or have contrasting tones or colours. Breeders have also produced spurless types, but I don't see the point in taking away the charm of a plant (much like Bellflowers with flat rounded flowers instead of dangling bells).

Aquilegia vulgaris (left) is the common Columbine, indigenous in light moist woodland and along hedgerows in most of central Europe. It is at its most beautiful with dappled sunlight breaking through the canopy of trees above. My grandmother gave me some seed of this double variety A.v. "Plena' and I have it still in my garden. The violet blue flowers of the wild type also look great in a suburban garden (right).

This soft pink seedling combines beautifully with the lilac heads of the Ornamental union (Allium 'Globemaster') -left- but the deep plum purple variety -right- combines equally well. The total effect is remarkably different however. I especially love the textural contrast between the Aquilegia and the Allium. The spurred double Columbine (middle) is also known as grandmother's bonnets. These double forms come true from seed, but Aquilegias hybridise easily so the resulting plants can be spectacularly different from the parent plant.

The simple white Aquilegia lifts any lightly shaded spot (left). The plant with these soft carmine flowers is a seedling of the white ones. The American species have longer spurs and are often bicoloured. On the right an example of a hybrid seedling in white and violet descendant from Aquilegia caerulea.

Limburg mining colonies after German examples, Part 2

As mining in the Netherlands was expanded by Germans (the brothers Carl and Friedrich Honigmann) and Belgians (Albert Thys and Henri Sarolea) methods and standing practices were imported from the neighbouring countries. The housing built for the miners and engineers differs in style and type and was often located away from existing settlements on cheap sites that can be situated at some distance of the original colliery site. The collieries have all vanished but one after closure in the 1970s. In Heerlen the pit tower of the Oranje-Nassau 1 Colliery is still standing. Also some spoil heaps remain. Most  of the mining heritage was removed with little consideration -as requested by local politicians- so the residents would not be reminded of their lot.... All remaining mining colonies are listed and have been restored.

Near ON2 a colony of Mulhouse Quadrangles was built 1905-07, known as Leenhof 1.This colony comprises of 12 blocks on either side of a central street, much like examples from the Ruhr Area. The floor plan is identical to the Mulhouse Quadrangles built earlier at Grasbroek. The exterior was finished in brown local brick.

An example of the brick-built Mulhouse Quadrangles at Leenhof 1. The basic design is identical to Grasbroek, and thus to buildings built in Essen by Krupp. The use of only brick makes these buildings rather sombre in appearance. Pilasters and keystones in the arches above the windows are used as ornamental elements.

Leenhof 2, built 1908-09, was designed completely different. These fully rendered blocks -again Mulhouse Quadrangles- were finished in an ochre yellow colour that contrasts nicely with the orange of the clay roof tiles. In contrast to Leenhof 1 the total effect is uplifting.

The building of Leenhof 2 are also very different in overall design compared to the standard type of Leenhof 1. The buildings are higher, 1,5 storeys with a central gabled section that is a full two storeys. The main building is extended at either end by a slightly lower section under a pitched roof creating a more stately overall effect that echoes mansion houses.

The blocks of Mulhouse Quadrangles are places at regular intervals, but not in an orthogonal mannes as is the case in for instance Beersdal. Here the blocks are placed at a slight angle creating long lines of site along the buildings an across the ample hedged gardens around them.

Leenhof 3 was built further along the road linking Heerlen and Ubach via Nieuwhagen. This colony, built in 1910, saw a return to the Grasbroek type with a facade in white render and brick detailing. The facade was designed with a more horizontal expression becouse of the brick banding and the trace frieze at the top (left). Across from Leenhof 3 a new church with a neighbouring secondary school was built to serve the mining colony. Before this large building in natural stone was completed in 1924 the Chapel of Our Dear Lady at Carmel (1633) further up the hill, that belonged to the Castle Schaesberg,  served as the place of worship. The Church is now an art studio.

A view across Leenhof 3 with the Mulhouse Quadrangles placed at regular intervals in large gardens with hedges parallel to the main road. Like Leenhof 2 this section of the Colony comprises of 6 Mulhouse Quadrangles.

A view from the main road towards Leenhof 4 shows that the buildings are again of the known type, and don't differ in architecture from Leenhof 3 (a portion of which is visible on the right). The semidetached cottages with the mansard roof that were built for middle management in 1915 are exactly the same as those erected in Beersdal.    

The row of semidetached cottages at Leenhof 4 come in two types: the standard type of semidetached dwellings and a doubled type of two linked semidetached cottages that results in a terrace of 4. Like at Beersdal a wide verge planted with trees is used to manage the height difference and place the buildings on the sloping terrain.

A close-up of both the Mulhouse Quadrangle (left) and a double cottage (right) shows these buildings are the same as the buildings built at Beersdal by the same mining company (ONMC) at the same time. These were erected 1911-13. The cottages lack the detailed frieze however.

The Mulhouse Quadrangles are positioned in parallel rows up the sloping terrain with a narrow access road on either side. Each building is set on a large plot divided into four gardens; one for each family housed within the block. Sadly the Privet hedges haven't survived the privatisation of the 1970s in all places. Now that the buildings have been restored, the context should be considered as well so that the ensemble can be fully appreciated.

Further up the slope, beyond the raised railway connecting Heerlen and 's-Hertogenrade (now in Germany and known as Herzogenrath), a separate colony was built for middle management and engineers. This Colony Schaesberg (1913-18) was designed on artistic principles, but lacks the characteristics of a true garden village. This street with a wide grass verge planted with trees creates a similar image, so this colony is often mistaken for an early garden village.

The housing is again designed in a style known as the Lorraine Style with facades in white render with brick detailing and banding. All semidetached houses in this colony have a similar floor plan. There are in fact only three types with two optional treatments of the facade, resulting in 6 "different" types of housing. The streets are curved or kinked for artistic effect conform German examples.

An example of a house on an identical floor plan, but with different facade treatments. On the left the type with white render and bands of brick that anchor the windows and doors in the facade. In addition lesenes divide the facade and indicate the firewall at the centre of these cottages. On the right the inverted scheme with a facade in brick with white cornices and banding with a ladder frieze at the top.

A view across the central circular public garden. The houses are placed at regular intervals along the circular road. Three types indicated by their roof shape are visible in this picture: a pitched roof with high hipped ends (left), a hipped mansard roof (centre) and a pitched roof with a one-sided lunette vault (right).

The cottages were placed almost on the road with no front gardens. This was seen as wasteful space that was of little use to the residents. Instead the back gardens were made as large as possible to accommodate  some livestock, a fruit tree or two and a vegetable plot. In contrast to the situation in Germany, allotments were never part of these colonies. The overall impression of the streets is varied and pleasant.

A small green with trees opens up this corner where two streets connect. The result is similar to Unwinesque design, but should be seen as Sitte-esque. The effect is very pleasant, especially with all the restored housing in this mining colony.

The design of this colony is in line with that of Leenhof, Grasbroek and Beersdal The double storey houses are much larger than those built for miners, but the two know a similar level of detailing that is typical for these colonies built by private mining companies. The housing in the colonies built by the State Mines are less detailed, even from the same period. Especially after the 1920s the architecture becomes increasingly more sober.

The Colony Hopel, built by the United Laura Mining Company at Eygelshoven in 1906, is a curious mix of vernacular architecture within a regular layout. This type of colony is also known from Germany and the Campine (Gompel Colony for instance). The colony is dominated by terraced housing. These two blocks in white on a black plinth have decorative black window shutters.

The housing at Hopel is very varied. On the left a shapely gable end inspired by Bavarian and Alpine architecture. Some of the miners were from this area, so this was a conscious choice. Other buildings have these decorative gables with window shutters inspired by Polish Baroque architecture (which in turn was inspired by so-called Dutch Gables).

The street layout is a regular circuit that is based on a grid. It is best viewed as a grid section. The rows of housing is placed at right angles and always at a regular distance along the streets. This layout was surely chosen to make easy expansion of the colony possible. Instead of expanding this small colony a garden village called Lauradorp was built further north near the village of Waubach.

Two lower houses flank the central axis of this colony on the south side. These building were inspired by vernacular farm building of the area. These detached dwellings were built at this strategic location as they were intended for two overseers. These would keep the miners in check both in the mine and in the colony.

The housing in this colony seems to be based on examples of cottage housing as promoted by Muthesius. These terraces of 4 can also be seen in a slightly different incarnation at Altenhof 2 in Essen and in various other workers colonies in the Ruhr Area. The colony has been fully restored and is listed in its entirety.

Limburg mining colonies after German examples, Part 1

Examples from Wallonia and especially Germany greatly influenced the types of houses being built in the mining colonies of South Limburg. The architecture was very distinctly different in comparison to the local vernacular of limestone and red brick. The first colonies were built by private mining companies, especially for the Oranje-Nassau Mijnen (ONM). These examples all show similar if not identical types and architecture. The mining colonies provided by Dutch State Mines (DSM) differ not in type but in architectural expression.

The Mulhouse Quadrangle is the staple of the earliest colonies in both the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. After the model was first presented at the 1850 World Fair in Paris, it was quickly adopted in northwest Europe. This type in Grasbroek has a rectangular footprint with an annex housing two kitchens at either end. The design is very decorative with brick facades and painted concrete - meant to resemble natural stone. The high roof creates space for bedrooms that each have a flat dormer window for air and light.

The Colony Grasbroek in Heerlen comprises of 6 Mulhouse Quadrangles that are set in large gardens surrounded by a hedge. Access is provided by narrow paths. The buildings, each with four family dwellings, are placed at ample distances to allow for large gardens where the miners could grow their own vegetables, fruit and keep some animals.

The Mulhouse Quadrangles built in the Colony Husken in 1906 were built to the same floor plan and design. The architectural expression is slightly different with predominantly white facades composed of areas of render bound by strips and bands of decorative brickwork.

The cottages were designed in the same style. They are built as low, semidetached, single storey blocks under a mansard roof. These cottages were intended for middle management. Engineers were housed in higher, two storey, semidetached houses (seen in the middle of the picture). Rendered areas bound by brickwork detailing creates a coherent appearance that sets the colony apart from all other housing.

Husken Colony is now regarded as part of the Musschemig Colony that was built on adjoining land. This colony was built with a single type of double cottage on the principles of Sitte-esque artistic urban design. It is sometimes called an early garden village, but has none of the Unwinesque spatial features.

All the houses in the Colony Musschemig have a more decorative facade with a recessed central panel and two small flat dormers to bring light into the bedrooms underneath the pitched roof. The black base is used to great effect, but also had a practical reason in this living environment rich black coal dust.

Beersdal Colony is the single biggest mining colony developed by the Orange Nassau Mining Company (ONMC). It was built on a grid layout with long streets at right angles and only two types of housing alongside them. Here a row of semidetached cottages for middle management. These houses built here 1910-13 are identical to those built in the colony Husken.

The semidetached cottages were built to a simple design as a single-storey dwelling under a mansard roof. Incidentally this type is known in America as a Dutch gambrel roof.  The bedroom space in the attic only has one small dormer window at the front, there are two at the back. The architecture is very decorative and is known in the Netherlands at the Lorraine Style (Lotharingse Stijl). From a low brick plinth the facade rises as areas of white render between brick lesenes culminating in a brick strip frieze.

At the centre of the colony a single strip was not developed for housing but planted as a public park for the recreational use of the residents of this colony. Recreation for workers was seen as important by German health officials and thus implemented in these Dutch colonies. Mining colonies were often the first places where a football club was founded. It is a very basic green space lined by lime trees and laid to grass with some benches and play areas.

The colony is dominated by these rows of Mulhouse Quadrangles. These have been restored in their original ochre colour. The buildings built first in the south of Beersdal where white and brick, these yellow and brick types can be found north of the public park. The houses are identical to those built in Grasbroek by the same company some 10 years earlier.  

The semidetached cottages in the northern section of Beersdal also have the yellow and brick exterior. The sloping terrain created some difficulties in modelling the earth as retaining walls were deemed to expensive and were avoided. So in placed wide strips planted verges negotiate the height differences and allow level access to the housing.

The Colony Butting was built for the State Mine Emma 1908-10 by the Building Department of State Mines in Hoensbroek. These Mulhouse Quadrangles were the first housing for miners in Hoensbroek. They are distinctly different from the Mulhouse Quadrangles built by ONMC. These blocks of four dwellings under a single pitched roof have rendered facades with little detailing apart from set back window arches and wood-clad gable ends.  

These Mulhouse Quadrangles have a different floor plan than the ONMC-type with an extension under an extended roof. This means they have more internal space and allow for use of the garden more in line with the use to be expected in a terraced house. The roof height is similar to the ONMC-type, but these block appear more substantial and higher. These Mulhouse Quadrangles are very similar to those built at Terwinselen.

The colony at Terwinselen near State Mine Wilhelmina was built in several phases. The result is a mix of house types in a style typical for the period. On the left  examples of semidetached middle management housing in "Lorraine Style". These blocks are repeated along a straight street at regular intervals and date from 1911-12. Across the road from the Mulhouse Quadrangles a row of these stylistically similar engineers cottages (right) were built around the same time. 

The building along the main street (above) differ in architecture from those facing the -elevated- railway. Here these short terraces of 3 were erected in a mixed vernacular style, again with the typical white rendering and the brick details. The roof design is similar to that of the housing for engineers. All were built around the same time.

As the colony was expanded after 1913 a new architect was employed by the Building Department to design the housing. The result is strikingly different. Here a variation on the Mulhouse Quadrangle as an up-down with two apartments on the ground floor and two more on the second floor. The ground floor residents have gardens at the side whist the people living upstairs each have a garden at the rear. This design is a return to the local vernacular of red brick and orange roof tiles.

More housing from the third building phase of Terwinselen Colony. Again the blocks are placed at regular intervals. This time some variation in type is allowed for with a mix of terraces of 4 and terraces of three and the occasional semidetached block. All are designed in a similar style with few decorative details.