Tuinwijk Vredeburg: Dutch-inspired architecture in Kalmthout

After returning from Amsterdam, the Belgian architect Egide van der Paal started his own practice. In his work he shows a great influence of Dutch architects like for instance H.P. Berlage and W.M. Dudok. The same can be said of co designer Paul Smekens. The first commissions of this architect, who was also inspired by the French Beaux Art, were the garden villages of Vredeburg in Kalmthout-Heide and Essenhout in Kapellen. Their combined efforts in Tuinwijk Vredeburg are often erroneously referred to as "built in a cottage style", in actual fact their work is halfway between Traditionalism and Modernism.

This double villa presents itself as a single dwelling, but is in fact a semidetached property. This building takes inspiration from both vernacular villa architecture and the plasticity of Berlagean design.

The gable tops are coloured white in these designs by E. van der Paal. This provides a striking contrast with the main body of the building clad in brick. The small red brick detail in the gable top, shown on the right, shows the architect was familiar with Amsterdam School architecture.

This large semidetached property with its protruding corner bays and symmetrical treatment under a hipped roof is a more traditional design. The colouration of the facade (red brick and white render) ties this building in with the rest in the row.

Each of the buildings of the garden village was to be set in an ample green garden with hedges along its boundary. The entrances on the Kapellensteenweg have been emphasised by portals that give access to the drive way. Each originally had an intricate and ornate  gate (shown on the right) between brick column with a central section rendered white underneath a hipped roof with red clay tiles (as seen on the left).

Central in the first building phase the so-called Discotheque Vredeburg took pride of place. This social club was changed into a Boarding house soon after it was opened. Nowadays it has been changed into private housing with a business premises where once the large arched gate gave access to what was planned as the Garden village Vredeburg. The name can still be read on the facade. This building by Paul Smekens is more ornamental than the housing flanking it either side.

Tuinwijk Vredeburg: the garden village that was never built

The village of Kalmthout, north of Antwerp, once formed part of the Manor of Nispen, that was held by the Lord Baron of Breda. After the partitioning of the Low Countries in the 16th century, Kalmthout with Essen became part of the Spanish Netherlands whilst the rest of the Barony of Breda became part of State-Brabant within the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. Kalmthout remained a small agricultural village surrounded by moors and heaths until the arrival of the railways in the 19th century.

Belgium was the first continental country to build a railway network from 1835 onwards. In 1836 the initial line linking Mechlin and Brussels was extended to Antwerp. In 1852 the industrialist Gihoul from Lille, who owned a lot of land around Kalmthout, agreed to fund and build a new railway linking Antwerp and Rotterdam via Breda. This railway line cut right through the village and lifted its isolation. The new transport facilities gave rise to new ideas and people coming to this hitherto remote location.  

The inhabitants of the city of Antwerp are soon attracted to this spot by virtue of its green landscapes, clean air and possibilities for more relaxed social interactions. The result were hotels and cafés springing up everywhere and a steady influx of day trippers. This was followed by wealthy urbanites building summer residences and later permanent villa's in and around the old village.

Originally stations were built at Ekeren, Kapellen, Kalmthout and Essen. In 1897 a new halt was created at Heide, literally on the heath halfway between Kalmthout and Kapellen. This halt had been targeted at accommodating day trippers, but quickly developed into a leisure hub. Especially Jewish traders, bankers and businessmen were attracted to Heide and flocked there building wooden summer houses and operating bars, guesthouses and hotels. In 1911 Kalmthout-Heide got its present permanent station and developed into a place of residence. The vast majority of people moving to Heide were, apart from some Russian and Austrian citizens, Jews originally from Amsterdam. They developed Heide into a leafy suburb some 12 kilometres north of Antwerp.

The Amsterdam-connection is important as Heide wouldn't be merely developed for villa's, but also had two garden villages planed for middle class clerks and employees on either side of the railway. The Nieuwe Wijk (literally New Quarter) was developed west of the track. The garden village Vredeburg (a common name for country retreats meaning: safe and quiet place) was planned on the eastside on a triangular plot of land between existing roads. The ambitious layout designed by Egide van der Paal (Belgian) who had worked in the employ of Van der Pek in Amsterdam was commissioned in 1921. He also designed the houses. The communal facilities were designed by Paul Smekens (also Belgian).

The design of the layout of this garden village is clearly based on the schematics  G Feenstra included in his book "Tuinsteden" (Garden Cities) of 1920, that was published in Amsterdam. It shows an Unwinesque inspired treatment of the street space that is delimitated by hedged front gardens and buildings combined. As a middle class neighbourhood semidetached properties dominate, even on the small public spaces (2+7) and around the larger squares (4+6). The central square (5) with an apartment building or communal facility is very recognisably inspired by Feenstra. On the edge room is allotted for another facility (3) probably a school. The so-called Discotheque (1) stood along the main road as a formal gateway to the proposed garden village.

The first and only building phase to be realised comprised of 10 houses along the Kapellensteenweg (outlined above in red). These detached and semidetached properties flank the so-called Discotheque Vredeburg (1923) a social club with rented rooms above. As a result of the persisting demand for rooms for rent and holiday accommodation the widow Rifka Brunner-Hollander started the Pension Brunner in the Discotheque. She would run her boarding house here until the 1960s.

Plant Fair

Silly me thought it would be relaxing to visit a Belgian garden fair last weekend. To say it was busy with people would be an understatement of the long queues at the entrance, at the café and at the toilets. I arrived an hour after opening to find that some stands were already through half of their plants. This lead me to a spat of power shopping moving at pace along the stands and exhibits. And sure I bought more than I ever intended despite the shopping list I had prepared. Well, such is life!