StadSherStel amSterdam

StadsherstelAmsterdamThe company for city restoration2006-2011

indexStadsherstel Amsterdam N.V. 5The Company for City RestorationFrom Cooled Warehouse to a Really Cool Warehouse 12Zeehoeve Farm 18Parkkerk 20Restoration of Dome on the Eindenhout Estate, Haarlem 23What is Stadsherstel doing in Suriname? 26‘Oud Nico’ Fire Station 28Restoration of Bakenesser Church Begins 32Stadsherstel and CSR 35Corporate Social ResponsibilityPersistence pays off:The ‘Oude Molen’ becomes the ‘Akermolen’ again 38Oudezijds Armsteeg 42A Vanished Dream 46Stadsherstel’sprojects in thecity centre ofAmsterdam2 | 3 |

StadsherstelAmsterdam N.V.The Company for City RestorationposthoornkerkSince its founding 55 years ago, Stadsherstel Amsterdam has developed into a restoration companyfor all kinds of monuments in an urban or rural environment. It not only restores, but alsopreserves these monuments in such manner, that the character of the building is left intact andthat further development will not cause any damage to the architecture, or change it in any way.Currently Stadsherstel owns more than 500 houses and 30 larger monuments, e.g. churches andindustrial monuments like pumping-stations and a shipyard. It is partly thanks to the exampleset by Stadsherstel, that the historic centre of Amsterdam became a very sought-after residentialarea.The neo-Gothic Posthoornkerkis the firstchurch in Amsterdamcreated by renownedarchitect P.J.H. Cuypers,who would laterdesign Centraal Stationand the Rijksmuseum.The church, a crossshapedbasilica witha three-way nave andclover-shaped choir,had to be built on asmall space. As a result,the second gallerywas built on top of theother. The constructionstarted in September1861. By the 1980s, thechurch was no longerin use and was nearlydemolished. However,this was prevented in1986 by a plan drawnup by the PosthoornkerkFoundation. Sinceits restoration andreconstruction, thechurch has been rentedout as office space,as well as used as alocation for receptionsand dinners. The Vondelkerk– which wasalso designed by Cuypers– was preserved inthe same way.Amsterdam after theSecond World WarAs in most cities in Europe, the historic part ofAmsterdam was in desperate need of restorationafter the Second World War. Although Amsterdamdid not suffer much war damage, since there hardlyhad been any bombing, the inner city looked like awar zone. Part of the damage was caused by neglectand lack of maintenance during the depressionyears in the 1930’s. The larger part of the deterioration,though, had a much more sinister cause. Thehouses of the deported Jews were stripped of allthe wooden parts, including supporting beams,when the German occupier forbade the sale of fuelto civilians. The wood ended up in the stoves of theAmsterdam citizens.During the post war period, both the central andlocal authorities in The Netherlands concentratedon the construction of as many houses as possiblein suburban areas. The old city centres were notconsidered appropriate for the housing of people.Thus the unique townscape of numerous historicdwelling houses in Amsterdam was being neglected.According to the Amsterdam city council theinner city was more suitable as a business centre,shopping area and for cultural purposes like opera,concerts, museums and the theatre. This meantthat it was necessary to make the centre accessibleto automobiles, which involved filling up canalsand converting them into roads. It also meant pullingdown houses in order to have enough space forthe vehicular flow to and from the centre and forcar parks in the inner city. The buildings consideredless valuable - including many 17 th and 18 thcentury dwelling houses - were to be pulled downfor this modernisation. Only the more remarkablebuildings were to be restored. These measureswould result in the erosion of the townscape.The acceptance of these plans by the city councilin the early 1950’s marked the beginning of a countermovementby the local inhabitants. The peoplecame to see that the historic centre was indeed verydecrepit, but not at all lost and very worthwhilesaving. The more the results of these plans came tolight by actual demolishing of complete streets, themore the protests grew.At first the countermovement was carried by respectablemonument lovers from the upper strataof society. It was characterized by the search forcooperation with the local authorities and by takingrestorations of the smaller dwelling houses intotheir own hands. But in the sixties the protest generationsided with the monument lovers and theirway of working was quite different. They soughtthe confrontation with the authorities. This peculiaralliance led ultimately to a change in policy ofthe local government. The large-scale destructionof the historic structure of the city made way fora street-to-street approach. In this approach theexisting buildings were the starting point aroundwhich the plans were drawn up. In the areas wherelarge scale demolishing had already taken place,the new buildings were put up according to the oldstreet patterns.In Amsterdam - and indeed in the whole of TheNetherlands - the idea of how to develop historiccities changed during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Thischange was brought about by concerned citizens,who fought for their living environment and cultur-4 | 5 |

chapel of durgerdamThe wooden ‘Chapel’of Durgerdam is builtin 1687. Even though itis known as a ‘chapel’,it actually functionedas the local town hall.Currently it is in useas a residential dwelling.To make sure thebuilding will be preservedsoundly andthe current tenants willbe treated well, the‘Chapel’ was sold toStadsherstel in 2010.al heritage. Since then the city of Amsterdam doesnot think twice, but a hundred times before pullingdown any historical building.The founding of StadsherstelAs already stated, the first countermovementagainst the plans of the city was carried by membersof the upper classes. The founding of Stadsherstelis the best example of this. It was foundedby members of an association called the AmsterdamseKring (Amsterdam Circle), a club of leadingpersons from the most important sectors of Amsterdamsociety. Even the mayor and the aldermenof the city were members. Within this society agroup of concerned individuals decided somethinghad to be done about the, what they thought to be,ruinous plans of the local authorities.Many deliberations with mayor and aldermenfollowed, but without result. The president of theAmsterdamse Kring, mr. Six van Hillegom - whowas in daily life president of the Amstel Brewery -then proposed to take the initiative himself. He wasinspired by a young artist, Geurt Brinkgreve, whodeveloped the idea of founding a company, independentof the city council, which would try to haltthe decline of the old city. Brinkgreve had written amemorandum on this matter. He cooperated withthe head of the - very small - department for conservationof the city, Ruud Meischke, who thoughtthe plans of his colleagues in the department of cityplanning were disastrous. This civil servant howeverhad to remain anonymous, because he wasbound by the official policy of the city council.Within the Amsterdamse Kring a committee wasfounded, named De Stad Amsterdam (The City ofAmsterdam), to concretize Brinkgreve’s plans. Itwas decided to establish a limited liability company(Naamloze Vennootschap), which meant thatthe company’s capital would come from shareholders.The members of the Amsterdamse Kring wereasked to buy shares in the new company. BecauseAmsterdam is the financial centre of The Netherlands,the country’s most important banks andinsurance companies are based in the city. Most oftheir presidents were - and still are - members ofthe Amsterdamse Kring and thus became involvedin the work of Stadsherstel. Also other companies,such as the dock industry, participated.Stadsherstel set itself three objectives:33To buy and restore the most threatened historicdwelling houses, especially listed monuments33To construct modern dwellings within thesebuildings for the benefit of the public housingsector33To maintain these buildings after restoringthemThe founders wanted to save the city landscape ofAmsterdam and especially the more modest buildings.They also wanted the residential function ofthe city to be restored, as this was necessary - alongwith the cultural, business and shopping functions- for the good functioning of the inner city. In thisway they wanted not only to restore historic Amsterdam,but also to contribute to solving the city’ssevere housing shortage.One of the founders, Mr. H. van Saane, was involvedin finding solutions to the housing problemson a national scale. For this purpose he created theN.V. Nederlandse Maatschappij voor Volkshuisvesting(Dutch Company for Public Housing), a publicliability company for the building of new housingprojects. The structure of this company became anexample for Stadsherstel. Because the founders ofStadsherstel wanted to make a permanent contributionto the preservation of the city, they decidednot sell the restored houses but to keep and maintainthem and to let them as living quarters.In 1957, Stadsherstel was granted the legal statusof a public housing corporation by the Ministry ofHousing and Planning. This gave it certain importantadvantages: it was exempt from both corporationtax (35% of profits) and transfer duties (6% ofthe purchase price). In 1968 the city of Amsterdamembraced the ideas and goals of Stadsherstel andbecame a shareholder; today, the city owns a 13%share.A limited liability companywith a social goalStadsherstel is both a limited liability company anda public housing corporation, which makes it ananomaly in The Netherlands: whereas the law requiresa limited liability company to make a profit,a public housing corporation is not allowed to doso. However, in cooperation with the Ministry ofHousing and Planning and the Ministry of Finance,a solution to the problem was found. The Ministryof Housing and that of Culture feared that theshareholders would take advantage of subsidies orspecial loans, while such advantages are intendedto benefit tenants. Therefore it was decided that theannual dividend should not be more than a reasonableinterest on the capital invested in shares (sincethe beginning, the dividend has been fixed at 5%)and in the case of the company’s dissolution, theshareholders would receive no more than theircapital and the dividend; the surplus would go tothe Central Fund for Public Housing or to an institutionfor restoring listed monuments. Later, thegovernment agreed that the 5% dividend would befree of tax for commercial organisations but not forprivate persons.A 5% dividend is on average not high (althoughthis of course depends on the interest rate on thelong-term market). On top of that there is no profitsharing with the shareholders. Stadsherstel’s statutesstipulate that any profit it makes after taxes,dividend, etc. must be used for the purpose forwhich the company was founded: to save historicAmsterdam. Thus the shareholders invested inStadsherstel primarily for altruistic reasons.As a limited liability company, Stadsherstel has amanaging director and a board of commissioners;the former is accountable to the latter. Theboard holds sessions with representatives of theshareholders - leading businessmen from the mostimportant Dutch banks and insurance companies.The commissioners are not paid but do their workvoluntarily in order to further the goals of Stadsherstel.Stadsherstel now has circa thirty employees, whoorganise the restoration and maintenance projectsbut do not carry them out themselves. They give assignmentsto architects and contractors, and thensupervise the projects right from the first preparationsup to and including their execution.Stadsherstel only buys houses that are in a very badcondition; most are unwanted and endangeredbuildings of historic importance. The companypurchases buildings no one else is interested it.Frequently those buildings are almost beyondsaving and, in light of their potential rental value,far too costly for their owners to restore. The importanceof restoring such dwelling houses lies inthe power this has to pull an entire street or evenneighbourhood out of the vicious circle of neglectand decay.In the beginning Stadsherstel bought houses inthose parts of the city where the city governmentwas planning to start demolition work, to thwartthose plans. But it soon started buying buildingsof which the rehabilitation would contribute mostto the upgrading of whole city blocks even in areasthat were not in immediate danger, but didface demolition in the long term because of longoverdue maintenance. Corner buildings were veryimportant: when restored, they provide a positiveculmination to two fronts and are clearly visiblefrom other places in the street. In later yearsStadsherstel tried to buy the buildings adjacent tothose it already owns: this helps to reduce the costof restoration work and, later, that of maintenance.At the same time, it gives the restored frontages aconsiderable impact and encourages other houseowners to restore their own property.Stadsherstel actively searches for buildings thatare in the danger zone. When it finds one, thecompany traces the owner and starts negotiations.It also happens that the city government offersStadsherstel a building which is in a bad state, andsometimes the company asks the city governmentto sell it a certain house or building.It is generally believed that the work of Stadsherstelwas jointly responsible for turning the tide in the6 | 7 |

way of thinking about the Amsterdam’s historiccentre. Of course Stadsherstel did not rescue thecity on its own, but it gave the example of how itcould be done. The example of her restorationsshowed that monuments are not pathetic moneyabsorbers, but could stand on their own feet economically.In its slipstream thousands of ownerresidentsmeticulously restored their possession,often piece by piece in a process that took years.Slowly the inner city became a popular residentialarea. The process of gentrification, so important toa lively city, set in and larger developers began toinvest. Now the historic centre is one of the mostpopular parts of the city to live in.As a public housing corporation, Stadsherstel usuallycreated dwellings in the houses it restored.Because of the popularity of the old city, peoplestarted to buy houses in bad constructional conditionfor high prices. It became quite difficulteconomically to restore buildings as rental houses,so Stadsherstel more and more took on restoringbuildings outside the housing sector. Furthermorethe emphasis was no longer on the 17th centurycentre of the city. In 1998 the board of commissionersagreed that Stadsherstel should work also inthe 19 th and early 20 th century districts. The biggestproblems in the inner city seemed to have beensolved, or could be solved by the market. That’swhy the work of Stadsherstel in the old centre islargely finished. Although their still remain severaldilapidated houses of which the company willrestore its share, the challenges of the future lieelsewhere.Challenges of the futureThe restoration of the old houses was the greatestrestoration task in the inner city of Amsterdamuntil the 1990’s. Before then there was no institutionto restore large monuments like churches andindustrial buildings. Those landmark buildings areparticularly important for the face and memory ofthe city. Unfortunately many of them are in dangerof being torn down. They occupy high valueground. If the market is at all interested in restoringsuch buildings, it would only be to turn them intoapartments. But by doing so the character of thebuilding’s interior would disappear. To prevent thedisappearance of this part of our cultural heritagethe Amsterdam Monument Fund (NV AmsterdamsMonumenten Fonds, AMF) was founded in1992. It was, like Stadsherstel, a limited liabilitycompany. The aim of the AMF was to restore largelisted buildings. It tried to find functions for themwithout turning the whole interior into offices ordwellings. Only if it was unavoidable for economicreasons an appropriate part of the building wouldbe transformed into offices. More than half of theshareholders of Stadsherstel became shareholdersof the new company.At the beginning of 1999 negotiations concerninga merger between Stadsherstel and the AMF werebegun. After carrying out investigations and consultingwith the Ministry of Housing, the Ministryof Culture and the city government, the shareholdersof both organisations came to an agreement.Of course the consequences of the merger for bothcompanies were great. To the new organisation itmeant:33Stadsherstel became a restoration companyfor all kinds of monuments. Its task became torestore all the threatened cultural heritage inthe whole city. As mentioned, at the momentthe most threatened monuments are not themodest buildings suitable for dwellings, but thelarger edifices like churches and 19 th -centuryindustrial structures (e.g. factories, tram depots,pumping stations). So the emphasis hasshifted towards the saving of those kind ofbuildings.33Subsidies from the government have becomeincreasingly smaller in the last decades. Theonly way to restore without suffering a financialloss was to act very sharply and economicallyduring each part of the process, in short, to bebusinesslike. In recent years, Stadsherstel hasincreasingly focussed on the financial aspects.To neutralise this tendency, after the merger anadvisory committee was installed to assess therestoration plans and to pay attention only tothe cultural aspects before applying to the localand the central government for permission.33The building itself is always Stadsherstel’s firstconcern: what kind of building is it, what areits characteristics and what kind of function isit suitable for? The larger restored buildings allhave very beautiful interiors, which are onlysuitable for incidental letting. Recent experienceshave shown that it is not possible totransfer such spaces to the hotel and cateringsector without exercising strict control. Theonly way to protect such spaces is to do the lettingunder own supervision. Thus Stadsherstelhas set up its own organisation to supervise theletting of (up to now) ten beautiful spaces orbuildings, in which dinners, receptions, symposia,concerts, all kinds of performances andweddings can be held.On 31 st December 2010, the company owned 500buildings, including 14 churches and 16 largemonuments like a shipyard, a storehouse, a mill,pumping stations and schools. Within these restoredbuildings are located 950 dwellings and 300commercial units, like shops, workshops pubs andrestaurants. A small amount of our houses havebeen built with extra subsidies from the Ministryof Housing and have a relatively low rent. In anyHerenstraat 36Occasionally the restorationor reconstructionof objects that do notqualify for subsidies– such as ornamentalgates, façade stones,pavement benchesand lanterns – can beachieved thanks todonations made by theAssociations of Friendsof Stadsherstelone year, some 85 dwellings become available fortenants. The company allocates the houses itself,using its own waiting list. Currently more than tenthousand applicants are on this list (closed to newregistrations). When interested, people on this listhave to react themselves to the available houses,being offered on the website every first Wednesdayof each month. The demand for accommodation inAmsterdam is very big and it is still increasing.The Society of Friendsof StadsherstelIn 1981 the Stadsherstel celebrated its 25th anniversaryand announced that a Society of Friendswould be set up for those who wished to providepractical support for the work of the company. Thephenomenon of a private limited company with aSociety of Friends seems extraordinary, and yet itexists. The idea of a Society of Friends clearly strucka chord and nowadays there are more than 2500members. Thanks to the members’ contributionsand a number of large donations, the society canassist in those cases, where under normal circumstancesa project could not otherwise be realised.For example, particular aspects of restorationwhich qualify for only a very small governmentgrant or no subsidy at all, such as the replacementof historic architectural features and of stone tablets,can now be carried out with the financial helpof the Society of Friends.The Society of Friends is also very important forpromoting and encouraging the public and politicalside of the company. When that support is notthere, the company cannot work. In that case therewould be no subsidies for restoring particular monumentsand without subsidies it is quite impossibleto do the job. Members of the Society of Friendsreceive a newsletter twice a year containing informationabout acquisitions and restoration projectsof the company and articles on specific aspects of arestoration, such as the foundations of old houses.An annual boat trip along the company’s propertiesis organised, as well as a trip by foot to restorationprojectsand projects that just have been restored.An example for other cities?Imperative for the success of Stadsherstel was - andis - the cooperation between a. citizens, b. the businessworld and c. the government, both local andnational.a. citizens - Stadsherstel was and is often the professionalcontinuation of action groups. Concernedcitizens muster support for the saving ofa building and start the battle. Frequently theycontact Stadsherstel for advice or to investigatethe possibilities of an economically sound8 | 9 |

Marnixstraat 58 2e Goudsbloemdwarsstraat 6, 10Tuinstraat 53 t/m 611e Egelantiersdwarsstraat 2, 4Egelantiersgracht 46, 48Egelantiersgracht 5Egelantiersgracht 35, 37, 39Egelantiersgracht 13Prinsengracht 142 t/m 148Bloemgracht 4future and a possible purchase of the buildingby the company.b. business world - the large banks and insurancecompanies have remained shareholdersthrough the years. They are satisfied with asmaller return on their money, because of thecultural and social benefits of Stadsherstel’swork. In other words, social involvement is themain motive for shareholders to invest in thecompany.c. government - local: although conflicts withsome municipal departments were - and are -fought out, others supported Stadsherstel fromthe start. But since it participation in Stadsherstelin 1968 the city of Amsterdam on the wholehas been an ally.national: the national government has supportedStadsherstel in the early years by grantingcertain tax benefits that are still valid.The appreciation of Stadsherstel’s work has beengrowing from the beginning. One of the most notableexamples of this is alderman, G. van ’t Hull,who was responsible for city development in thefifties. After his term of office he became the chairmanof the board of commissioners of Stadshersteland remained that for 25 years.The American scholar Anthony M. Tung wrotea book on the fate of twenty-two historic citiesaround the world: Preserving the world’s greatcities. The destruction and renewal of the historicmetropolis (New York 2001). The author considersthe work of Stadsherstel an example for other cities.He writes, among other things, about the work ofStadsherstel:‘In Amsterdam a marvellous resolution of socialequity, modernization, and architectural preservationwould evolve in one of the world’s most sophisticatedurban conservation initiatives.’ (p.194)“by actively helping to shoulder the economicburden of conservation, preservationists came tocommand a higher moral position, enhancing theirempowerment in the citywide political dialogue”.ConclusionWith the founding of the company for city restoration,Stadsherstel, Amsterdam got an effectivemeans of restoring the City. Indeed, as Prof. A.M.Tung said, the company can reconcile the problemsof urban conservation, urban revitalizationand urban social housing.During the 55 years of its existence, a well-balancedsystem has been developed for restoring the mostunwanted and endangered historical buildings inAmsterdam. This is despite the fact that, especiallyin the last ten years, all the grants for public housinghave disappeared and the subsidies for restoringmonuments have been diminished. An exemptionfrom transfer duty was granted from January 1,2003 for listed monuments.Today, it is very hard to restore a building in a legitimateway without incurring a loss. It is likely tobecome even harder, if not impossible, in the yearsto come. As far as new social housing in monumentsis concerned, this is already the case. Themost stable factor during the existence of the Stadsherstelhas been the contribution of the shareholdersfrom trade and industry. They have alwayspaid their contribution according to the sameconditions, as much as was necessary and alwaysat the right moment. Let us hope that, despite thecurrent economic conditions, Stadsherstel will beable to continue the reconciliation of the problemsof urban conservation and urban revitalisation formany years to come.‘Stadsherstel had introduced a more inventive wayto think about the renewal of the city. Problems ofurban conservation, urban revitalisation and urbansocial housing were reconciled by being solvedsimultaneously. The historic city was largely saved.New architecture was asked to engage in the collectiveurban aesthetic colloquy. Amsterdammerslearned to live with the liabilities of the historicenvironment in order to retain its other cherishedattributes.’ (p. 247)Property in ‘de Jordaan’.Maybe a working method like that of Stadsherstelcould help to save other historic cityscapes. It’scrucial for the preservationists to remain constructiveand come up with solutions. That’s the bestway to convince everybody concerned, that monumentsare both culturally and economically worththe time, the money and the effort. As Tung puts it(p. 244):10 | 11 |

From a CooledWarehouse to a ReallyCool Warehouse“Pakhuis de Zwijger,Stadsherstel’s mostingeniously developedbuilding. A road througha building, nice tenants,and historic heritage in themiddle of an area that isalmost newly built.”Emmy SchoutenDescribing the building and restoration of PakhuisDe Zwijger in a way that everyone can understandis quite a challenge. The design of architect De BieLeuvelink Tjeenk and design engineer Bakker washighly ingenious even when they produced it in1934. Economic motives played an important rolein the remarkable design. Until the Second WorldWar, ground rent was based on the area of thebuilding that actually covered the ground. Projections,overhangs, balconies and such like did notcount, so the architect made the building smalleron the ground floor than on the storeys above it.The increase in floor area is accomplished on thesecond floor, which has an overhang on the southand east sides. It was a daring feat of constructionwhose costs were outweighed by the permanentlylower ground rent! However, the building alsoprojects invisibly under the ground. ‘PakhuisAfrika’ (The Africa Warehouse) was already standingon the west side, and that meant that piles hadto be driven in at considerable distance from theproperty boundary. On the north side (by the RiverIJ), too, it was not possible to drive foundationsunder the outer wall because of the quay, so thesepiles are also located within the property boundary.This means that the building overhangs on allfour sides, albeit at different levels.De Zwijger is a concrete building; its load bearingstructure consists of columns that get wider at thetop rather like a mushroom. The columns are aboutfive metres apart and are considerably thicker onthe bottom floor than on the higher storeys. 1933 isnot that long ago, but it was a completely differentage. Labour costs were next to nothing, but materialswere expensive. This meant it was important toeconomise on materials, so the shuttering for theoctagonal (!) columns was assembled with differentdiameters on each floor. This cost a lot of time,but it saved on wood, concrete and reinforcingrods. And it cut down on the amount of verticaltransport, which was not nearly as well organizedthen as it is today. The upward reduction incolumn width allowed the architect to display theinterplay of forces in the building, emphasising thefunctionalist and constructivist character of thebuilding. The top floor – the sixth – was home to thelaboratory. Here the wares, such as coffee, beansand cocoa, were inspected and tested. On the northside there is an enormous, sloping window in a‘shed roof’, producing the ideal studio with day-light but not direct sunlight and an excellent viewwithout reflections. This 6 th floor also housed thefamous gas cabinets that were a prime advert forthis refrigerated warehouse because bacteria couldbe eliminated using the latest techniques.The facades of the warehouse are brick-faced, butthis does not contribute to the structural strength.The architect used yellowish bricks laid in a whimsicalbond to emphasise that the brickwork’s onlypurpose is to protect the building against wind andweather. De Zwijger was built as a cooled warehousefor the storage of perishable goods. For thatreason, an additional thick layer of concrete wasapplied to the inside of the south wall (the townside). This thick wall, with small windows, efficientlykept out the summer heat so that the buildingremained naturally cool.With its columns on the outside at the groundfloor and 1 st floor, the overhang on the 2 nd floor,the rhythm of the hoisting hatches, the yellowbrickwork and the shed roof, this is not only a functional,industrial building but also an extremelybeautiful and striking one.Jan Schaefer Bridge driventhrough the warehouseWhen the Java Island area of Amsterdam was convertedto a residential area, the municipal executivedecided to create the Jan Schaefer Bridge, a directconnection between this artificial island and Kattenburgerstraat.De Zwijger lay in the direct line ofthis development, and the urban planners made aplan to run the bridge through the warehouse. Thisplan, together with the supposed decrepit state ofthe building (which nearly led to its demolition,despite the fact that it was then already a listedbuilding), made it necessary to take numeroustemporary structural measures.To facilitate construction of the ‘gateway’ under thebuilding, the ground and first floors and the associatedcolumns had to be removed where they layin the path of the bridge. But because of the risingapproach of the road towards the bridge, part ofthe 2 nd storey also had to be removed on the northside. However, this meant there was no longer anysupport for the floors above, so these floors were‘hung’ from numerous tension rods. Enormoussteel rafters were installed on the 6 th storey for theattachment of these tension rods. However, during12 | 13 |

in the east facade on the ground and first floors toprovide a view for the public as they make use ofthe catering facilities there. On the 6th floor, thesetback brickwork facades were to be replaced withsteel-framed windows, turning this storey into highquality office space. The outside areas there were tobe laid out as terraces for the users, complete withoutside smoking areas. A plan to expand the shedroof to form a continuous feature in an eastward directionas a space for systems was worked out, butthe government department for the preservation ofnational monuments was having none of it.Construction andaccessibility of the buildingOn the other hand, the interior modifications werenumerous and sometimes radical. The design engineers,Ingenieursgroep Van Rossum, were involvedin the project from the start. In many respects, thelarge hall accommodating 400 or 500 people was atthe heart of the schedule of requirements. This wasprojected to come directly above the gateway andhence on the 2 nd storey. The floors and associatedcolumns were to be removed from the 3 rd and 4 thstoreys in this area. This had the major structuraladvantage of removing a lot of weight throughoutthe building and precisely over the gap where thebridge passes through.A building with all thefacilities – on budgetDuring this whole exercise, the establishment costswere reduced from 17 million euros to just over11 million euros, for which about 5,500 m 2 of floorspace was to be renovated and given a change ofuse. Of course, this was balanced by a considerableamount of compensation from the City of Amsterdam,such as for the removal of the steel constructionthat had been erected to facilitate creation ofthe gap for the Jan Schaefer Bridge and thus alsofor the necessary work to put the building backinto good structural order. In goes without sayingthat the Department for the Preservation of Monumentsalso provided a subsidy. For this budget, thebuilding would be handed over ready for use sothat the tenants could get started right away. Thismeant that it would have all the facilities, includingthe latest data network, connection to the externalfibre-optic network (making it possible to broadcastlive TV and radio from the building), theatricaltechnology in the halls and five fully equipped digitalradio studios; all painted, with floor coveringsand access control systems. In short: the wholeworks apart from the furniture, so that the tenantswould not have to get even more money togetherbefore they could get started. This was also theexpress wish of the municipal executive.the installation of this construction and the demolitionof the floors and columns, the east facadestarted to subside. The 2 nd storey – the level of theoverhang – holds the building together and in balance,and it was precisely from this storey that abig chunk was removed on the north side. For thatreason, the three northernmost columns of the eastfaçade had to be underpinned. By this time, we hadreached the year 2001.Plans to give Pakhuis DeZwijger a Second LifeThis was the state of the building when encounteredby the promoters of the new centre for thecreative industry, with developers and architects intow. Additionally, hundreds of pigeons were nestingin the building and merrily procreating. Planswere developed, but for various reasons theseproved not to be feasible. At the start of 2004, onthe recommendation of their advisor Dieric Elders,the promoters approached the Van Stigt architecturalpractice. André van Stigt then approachedStadsherstel. The architect and Stadsherstel werewell known to each other, and in the space of threeshort months all those involved hammered out aplan under the coordination of Van Stigt.The major difference between this and previousplans was that the building was the main focus andwould remain so. The size, outline and silhouettewere to be retained in every way. Instead of adaptingthe building to fit the schedule of requirements,the schedule had to be adapted to the building. Justa few changes would be made to its appearance. Anumber of horizontal windows were to be createdTo facilitate constructionof the ‘gateway’under the building, theground and first floorsand the associatedcolumns had to beremoved where theylay in the path of thebridge.Two smaller halls were to be created on the 5 thfloor. The respective roles of these halls as televisionstudio and multi-functional hall made it necessaryto increase the height. This meant that partof the floor on the sixth level had to be demolishedand replaced with a new concrete floor, about 60cm higher.However, the biggest challenge for the architectwas configuring access to the building. There weretroublesome parameters. Even in the original design,the ground floor was smaller than the upperstoreys, but due to the bite taken out of it by thebridge the difference in area between the groundfloor and the 2 nd storey had become even bigger.And yet on the busiest days there could be as manyas 1,000 people in the building, all of whom hadto enter and exit via the ground floor – even inemergencies. To top it all, the design engineer wasof the opinion that it would be a bad idea to createapertures in the floor for stairs and lifts immediatelyadjacent to the gateway. This meant that thebigger staircases and lifts could only be installedin a single vertical line. After much brainstorming(the tenants also tried to help figure it out!), thearchitect came up with a solution. The best possiblesolution, given the circumstances, but the stairswould always be steep and the doorways sometimesrather narrow. Two passenger lifts and onegoods lift were also to be installed in the building.Role of the new usersAll this meant that the architect had to go into thedetails of the layout of the building at an early stageand define elements of it in the design and specificationphase. Steadily, problems arose because ofthis. Naturally, the future users only understood ata later stage what it all meant for the building andfor ‘their’ layout. All these issues were discussedwith the tenants in the planning team. This consultationwas often constructive, but sometimesit went less well; in almost every case, it was quiteemotional. In the end it was decided that the tenantsshould engage a consultant architect for theproject. A list of all the points that could still bechanged was drawn up, such as stair banisters,floor coverings in the public areas and the layout ofthe hall, counters and bar. The architecture practiceHeren 5 took on this task. Its suggestions, followingapproval, were worked out in practice by Van Stigt,which retained ultimate responsibility and supervisedthe coordination of the various disciplines.This move helped in this unusual building project,where the users had already been involved with thebuilding for much longer than Stadsherstel had.After all, it was these promoters who had put theproject with Van Stigt and Stadsherstel.14 | 15 |

1 (Translator’s note)Roughly: “Posteritybefore the Moment”;i.e. the considerationsof posterity should takepriority over the convenienceof the moment.2 (Translator’s note)William the Silent,Prince of Orange.SquattersIn 2003, Pakhuis Afrika was occupied by squatters.De Zwijger was an inhospitable building and sowas mainly used for events, alternative art showsand studios for aspiring artists. With the road runningthrough (and the associated noise), the hatchesthat closed badly or not at all and the hordes ofpigeons, the building was hardly very suitable as aplace to live. The squatters therefore used PakhuisAfrika as living accommodation. The warehouseshave a communal staircase on the River IJ side,so it was also strategically important to them tooccupy both premises. It took some trouble, butafter a while the architect and Stadsherstel got theopportunity to visit the premises. That was notalways very easy, partly because the composition ofthe group changed quite frequently. It remained adisadvantage in the preliminary inspection phase,but the squatters liked the plans for De Zwijger somuch that they moved out of the building voluntarilyat the beginning of 2005. The objections tothe request for planning permission, expressed bythe association ‘Eeuwigh gaat voor Oogenblick’ 1 ,were also overcome after talks with the architectand the principal. On ‘handing over’ the building,the squatters presented Stadsherstel with a bust ofWillem de Zwijger 2 , after whom the building wasnamed. The bust was made by one of the squatters.When the contractor started work, there werestill occasionally some arguments about access viathe communal staircase, but these were resolvedafter some time. In the summer of 2005, the ‘MobieleEenheid’ (a special unit of the Dutch police)cleared the building of the remaining squatters forsafety reasons.The contractor and theplanning scheduleConstruction at De Zwijger officially started on7 April 2005, but considerable progress had alreadybeen made. The work was not put out to tender,the contract being granted to the construction firmDe Nijs of Warmenhuizen as part of a constructionteam. The contractor discovered that a buildingfrom 1934, however functional in design, was notbuilt to precise measurements. All the storeys weredifferent in height and none of the columns wereexactly aligned, but the thing that really made it differentfrom any other work on an existing buildingwas the demolition sequence. Normally it is possibleto strip out the entire building so that the realconstruction can start a few weeks or months later.In De Zwijger, however, the contractor had to puteach storey completely in order from a structuralpoint of view before the temporary steel auxiliarystructure could be removed from that storey. Andso they worked from one storey to the next, startingwith the second. This meant that demolition continueduntil late in the process – and quite radicaldemolition it was too. As a result, the floor of the6 th storey was only removed in January 2006 – lessthan eight months before handover – while in otherparts of the building they were already fine tuningthe building systems. The deafening noise and vibrationfrom the demolition of a concrete structuredidn’t do much to help communication betweenthe various technicians and builders. The planningschedule caused a lot of headaches for thecontractor (and also for the principal), and it waspartly due to this that a postponement of handoverbecame inevitable.NoiseThe acoustic requirements play an especially importantrole in the warehouse. People can makequite a lot of noise in the halls and studios, and thismust not be allowed to cause a nuisance, especiallyfor the surrounding offices. Noise from outside alsohas to really stay outside and, above all, not penetrateto the main hall. The extended urban busesdriving over the Jan Schaefer bridge cause not onlya lot of noise but vibration as well. This meant thatthe road surface of the bridge had to be completelyseparate from the building, and many adaptationsto the warehouse itself were needed. For example,the floor of the 2 nd storey was constructed as a solidblock, with a soundproof ceiling underneath. Whenthe building was nearly ready, the noise measurementsgave excellent results.At one point, noise led to a major change of planwhen construction had already been underwayfor quite some time. It had been intended to putthe radio studios in the basement, but until constructionstarted the Peutz consultancy firm fromZoetermeer could not carry out any decent readings.This was simply because the building wascompletely open; it was only several months afterthe start that apertures in the basement could bebricked up. The readings then showed that havingradio studios in the basement wouldn’t be possible.It was exactly in that zone that the urban busescaused a great deal of noise, especially at low frequencies.This could not be resolved and, at quite alate stage, we had to decide to build the studios onthe 4th storey. As a result, the studios and offices ofSalto completely occupy this storey.Cooperative tenants3 (Translator’s note)‘Nesting boxes’.The promoters became the new tenants and hencethe new users. Their original intention to cooperateintensively in the new accommodation increasedby leaps and bounds during the construction period.The four companies realised the enormous possibilitiesof the building and the potential benefitsof cooperation. A highly advanced network makesit possible to transmit text and motion picturesthroughout the building. For example, interviewsin connection with an event in one of the halls canbe broadcast from the café on the ground floor. Theoffices are also directly connected via the networkso that programmes being made elsewhere in thebuilding can be edited ‘on line’ from there. And inthe studios they can work on the details of eventsrecorded in the building. After editing, these can bebroadcast via the cable connection.It will also be possible to broadcast events live fromthe hall. This can be done via Salto’s channels, butthe broadcasting stations in Hilversum can alsotake care of it. De Zwijger is directly connected tothe media capital via the fibre optic network. Thepossibilities of television via the internet will beexplored exhaustively. The internal and externaltelephone traffic will also be conducted via theinternet with the aid of voice over IP. In this respect,De Waag, a pioneer in the field of the internet (‘TheDigital City’) and highly advanced computer applications,is a leading light in the building.Salto is the public, and above all publicly accessible,broadcasting station of Amsterdam. It providesradio and television (via internet or otherwise)intended for and made by listeners and specifictarget groups, giving you a broad vista of all the(multi-)cultural life of Amsterdam. The enormousadvantages of technical cooperation with De Waagspeak for themselves. Recent graduates and newlystarted entrepreneurs can get to work in a professionalway in an environment with all the necessaryfacilities, assisted by low rent in the first twoyears of their career. The organisation ‘Broedplaatsen3 Amsterdam’ helps them with this.In the halls, ‘De Cultuurfabriek’ (The Culture Factory)produces events relating to cultural debateas well as more commercially oriented ones. Thiswas the prime purpose of the main hall, but withthe possibility to highlight the debate in a widevariety of ways. Of course, it is also a very goodplace for musical events, as the first trial concertshave shown. These productions can be edited inthe building for transmission via radio or TV ordissemination via the internet, whether or not incooperation with De Waag and Salto. In addition,De Cultuurfabriek operates the catering facilitieson the ground and first floors. The Amsterdam ArtFund will make less use of this technical interactionwith other users, but nevertheless wishes to have abase in the cultural heart of Amsterdam.a Really cool warehouseThe decisions to build the Jan Schaefer bridge andto preserve De Zwijger as a national monumentmade it necessary to run the bridge through thebuilding. After all, the first two decisions were contradictoryand this made it necessary to make thethird, reconciling decision. An administrative monstrosityor Dutch consensus politics at their best?On entering the building, you can see the outcomeof these decisions on the ground floor and the 1 ststorey. Through the steel and glass facades, visitorscan see the traffic passing over the bridge. Pedestriansand cyclists can take the time to glance inside.Visitors inside have an all-round view while theyenjoy a meal or a drink, and always have a viewof the water. On the higher storeys, the public canview the bridge and the water from above. Everychange in the daylight because of a sunbeam or arain shower gives the large area of water a differentappearance. The landscape constantly changesand always attracts the visitor’s attention. In thefoyer on the 2 nd storey, you can look directly ontothe road through the openings in the enormoussteel truss. This storey is at about the same levelas the summit of the bridge; the urban bus lookslike it is going to drive into the building, but passesunder the visitor so close you feel you could touchit, to disappear on its way to the junction with PietHeinkade. Whether an administrative monstrosityor a model of consensus politics, the bridge runningthrough the building has produced a strikingconjunction of building, road and water, which thearchitect has been able to make visible throughoutthe building. There is intensive interaction betweenthe inside and the outside. It has now become areally cool warehouse!16 | 17 |

Zeehoeve Farm“Out of place among thecommerce, electricity,water and new buildingslies a piece of history thatwas fortunately neverused for its intendedpurpose. For the sake ofthe surroundings, let’s giveit a fine new function!”Frank de RidderIt was announced last year that the restoration ofZeehoeve farm was nearly complete. The originalliving quarters, together with the stable to the rear,had already been handed over to the tenant, StichtingHerstelling (the Restoration Foundation). Thisfoundation aims to give work experience to youngpeople with poor employment opportunities byinvolving them in restoration projects, such as therestoration of the forts and green areas of the DefenceLine of Amsterdam. It is not an educationalinstitution, but rather preparation for subsequenttraining, employment or a combination of thetwo. The foundation’s Diagnosis Centre is based inZeehoeve. This part of the foundation uses a practicalcycle of tests and orientation with the aim ofproviding participants, within two months, with athorough and meticulous advisory report leadingto an appropriate work programme.This year, work was completed on the stone-builtpigsty that was handed over in February. The entiresite was ceremonially opened on 13 July 2005 byAlderman Aboutaleb. He attached the wood carvingto the dormer window of the living quarters.Stichting Herstelling rents all the grounds that havealways belonged to Zeehoeve Farm.Much of the grounds at Zeehoeve have been restored,insofar as possible, to the condition theywere in around 1900. This means that everyone– especially the foundation’s participants – canexperience what life was like on a farm around thebeginning of the 20th century. For the young people,that mainly involves taking a hand in the workon the farm. Although the farm has no livestock,it is otherwise run as if the farming family was stillliving and working there. That is partly possiblethanks to the stories and photographs supplied byMrs Hennipman-Bakker, who grew up here at Zeehoeve.The gardens department of Stichting Herstellingtook charge of the green areas of the estate;for example, the old fruit orchard and the vegetablegarden have been restored to their former glory. Onthe other hand, the grounds have been given somenew additions. For example, in the past dirty watercould be simply discharged into the ditch. Now, in2005, that is no longer allowed and the water hasto be purified first. The water is purified throughthe use of ‘constructed wetlands’. The dirty water ischannelled through this wetland and purified; afterthat, it can go into the ditch as clean water.Zeehoeve Farm, Stadsherstel’s first provincialmonument, has nearly been restored to its formerglory. What is still missing is the hay barn. Theoriginal barn was destroyed by fire in 2003, but itwill probably be rebuilt in 2006. The foundation hasfound a new, useful function for the barn. This isalso a good example of adaptation to farming life,because the farmers also knew how to make thebest use of available space.zeehoeve farm18 | 19 |

Parkkerk“It is a church with anew, different function,and a building withmany colours”Juan HernàndezThursday, 16th February saw the completion of thefirst stage of a restoration in an anniversary year:the completion of structural work on the Parkkerk(Park Church). However, this did not mean that thechurch could immediately be taken into use. Thebuilding still had to be set up as an organ centre bythe new tenant, Stichting Het Orgelpark (The OrganPark Foundation).The first contact with the Organ Park’s promoter,Loek Dijkman of Stichting Utopa, was made in July2003. After a year of making plans, the preparatorywork for the restoration started in summer 2004.Then, on 21 December of that year, this urgentlyrequired restoration was officially begun.The intention was that the Organ Park should becomea concert hall accommodating not only theexisting Sauer organ but three or four more organs.Organists (a dying breed due to the drastic declinein church attendances) would get new opportunitiesto practice, perform and compose organ music.This would enable connections with music ofother types such as jazz, Latin and improvisationto reach a wider audience. There would be specialprogrammes for children, lunchtime concerts and,last but not least, dancing; specially choreographeddancing for organ music, but also dancing just forfun as they used to do in Amsterdam pubs in theinter-war years and still do in Flemish ‘staminees’.The maximum number of people in the hall wouldbe 250 and the principal had made it clear that thestandard of the concert hall should be at least equalto that of the nearby Concertgebouw and shouldconvey a ‘festive’ atmosphere to the public.tveld Buis and Partners was engaged for the buildingphysics. And, of course, there were also a feworgan experts around to give advice!The work was put out to tender in summer 2004.Bouwbedrijf Hulshof was the lowest bidder and thecontract was granted to this firm. The building systemswere contracted out separately, based on thespecifications of Herman de Groot Projekttechniek.Hijkoop was chosen for the electrical systems, Vande Burg for the heating and Bouwbedrijf Kiebert forthe actual work on the interior decor. All three wereregular business relations of Loek Dijkman and hiscolleagues. This meant that many parties would beworking on the Parkkerk and so to prevent any possibledifferences of interpretation, a fixed structurewas agreed. Buro Delfgou was in charge, and jobscould only be allocated via them and Stadsherstel.The general provision of information to all the partiesalso went via the bureau in charge.There is now a splendid church building in excellentstructural condition, containing a colourful,almost flamboyant concert hall with superbacoustics. The meticulously furnished foyer andtoilet block are also very attractively finished. Theprevious annual report contains a detailed descriptionof the work, which eventually led to structuralcompletion on 16th February. And almost a yearlater, on Saturday, 21st January 2007, the OrganPark was officially opened by Mayor Job Cohen.In the booklet that the Association of Friends ofStadsherstel published about the Parkkerk, LoekDijkman describes the purpose of the new organcentre as follows:In fact, there were two principals. In the end, Utopainvested so much in its own concept that it was nolonger simply a future tenant. Utopa, which alreadyhad other accomplishments to its name, such asthe sculpture gallery ‘Het Depot’ in Wageningen,had been working for many years with Bas vanHille of BD architectuur in Leiden. Meanwhile,Stadsherstel had engaged Nico Willigenburg ofMonumenten Adviesburo Delfgou some time previouslyto make a thorough architectural inventoryand draw up a restoration plan, so he continuedto be involved. Also, everyone was agreed that asystems advisor was needed right from the start.Herman de Groot Projekttechniek of Leusden wasengaged for this purpose, and Rob Dekkers of Lich-“The purpose of the Organ Park is to present theorgan in a new way, thereby giving it a place incontemporary music. The musician and the artistare put in central place and our objective is accomplishedvia three components: organ music, theorganist and composer, and the public. Traditionally,the organ primarily served the building (especiallythe church); in the Organ Park, the buildingserves the organ and its music. This means that thereis room for a broad range of activities, such as compositionassignments, study facilities, master classesand exhibitions. The organ is the uniting theme forthese highly diverse activities.”We wish him every success in this!20 | 21 |

“Hidden in a beautifulclearing in the woodand yet accessible foreveryone.”Remco VermeulenA splendid churchbuilding in excellentstructural condition,containing a colourful,almost flamboyant concerthall with superbacoustics.The following message was secreted in a tube in thetop of the church for future generations:On the instructions of Stadsherstel Amsterdam N.V.,owner of the Parkkerk, Monumenten AdviesburoDelfgou B.V. of Scherpenzeel produced the specificationand drawings for this restoration.Following a multiple restricted invitation to tender,the contract to carry out the restoration was awardedto the construction firm Hulshof Restauratie ofHouten on 7 th October 2004.The roofing work was subcontracted to W.M. vanBoxtel BV and the steel and wrought iron work toVan der Vegt of Meerkerk. The wooden globe of thisfinial was made in the workshop of Hulshof Restauratie.In charge of the construction site was general foremanHans Kooijman, who provided inspiring leadershipfor this work in which much restoration takesplace, often using traditional crafts and techniques.Many people also took part in this restoration,among them Cees Delfgou and Nico Willigenburg(adviesburo Delfgou), Cees Nomen (Hulshof), PeterVerwindt and Willem Ellenberger (building supervisionOud-West) and Paul Morel (Stadsherstel).The restoration was facilitated by the cooperation(including financial assistance) of the Bureau ofMonuments and Archaeology. All the work wasdone in cooperation with the Oud-West Borough ofAmsterdam.In the course of this restoration, the interior of theParkkerk will be transformed into a centre for modernorgan music. Upon completion, the Parkkerkwill thus become the ‘Orgelpark’ (Organ Park).A great stimulus and source of energy (in manyrespects) has been Loek Dijkman of Stichting HetOrgelpark. BD-architectuur has produced the drawingsfor the interior. On behalf of this agency, Basvan Hille and Tom Spaanderman have joined inthis restoration game for grownups.Drawn up on 29 th March 2005 during the celebrationof the highest point, in which this reconstructedfinial was unveiled. The original was removed in1963 and this new one was reconstructed by buroDelfgou on the basis of old photographs and drawings.The dome on the Eindenhout estate, Haarlem22 | 23 |

Restoration of Domeon the EindenhoutEstate, HaarlemIn the gardens of the former Eindenhout estate outside Haarlem – better known as the ‘Housewith the Statues’ – stands a unique dome. This dome has been awaiting restoration for a longtime; a demolition permit had even been issued for the complete removal of the structure. Fortunately,Stadsherstel Amsterdam and Rescura joined forces and approached the Haarlem municipalitytogether in search of a solution. Thanks to this partnership, the dome - once so beautiful,but now decrepit - is being restored to its former glory.The Eindenhout EstateA house existed on the site of the Eindenhout estateas early as 1630. It was located next to the inn ‘HetDronckenhuisje’ and was also used as a pub knownas ‘Het Nieuwe Dronckenhuisje’ until 1685. At thebeginning of the18th Century, the estate acquiredthe name ‘Eindenhout’. At the end of that century,in 1793, the wealthy Amsterdammer George GerardLans had the present house built. It was designedby Pierre Esaie Duyvené, an architect from Lans’shome town. Around 1802, the next owner, JacobTemmick, beautified the estate and installed thetwo marble sphinxes from Italy. In 1963, the Haarlemmunicipality acquired ownership of the estate.The municipality’s main interest was in the groundssurrounding the house and the gardens were setup as a public park as an extension of the Haarlemmerhoutwood. The house itself fell into disrepairand was sold in 1972 to the antiquarian H.F. Bill ofAmsterdam, who had it restored.DemolitionThe dome, located by the Haarlemmerhout woodclose to the Wagenweg/Spanjaardslaan crossroads,is one of the first examples of the use of reinforcedconcrete in the Netherlands. It may even be thevery first structure created in reinforced prefabricatedconcrete and this is one of the reasons that itis a national monument. Neglected for decades, itwas in such poor condition that it seemed impossibleto preserve it. Despite the efforts of ‘Stichting ’tKoepeltje’ (founded 1984) to save the structure, theprocedure to delete it from the national list begana few years ago and a demolition permit had evenbeen issued.Rescue PlanRestorationThe restoration is proceeding apace. At present, thedome is completely packed away, but in Septemberthe monument will be back in pristine condition.The intention is to officially complete the workduring Open Monument Weekend of 12th and13th September although, regrettably, the gardendome will not be completely restored to its formercondition by then. To avoid the dome becoming agathering place for youths, the Haarlem municipalitydecided that the roof should not be replaced.That had already fallen in by 1948, probably due tothe weight of the statue of a siren that surmountedit. During the neighbourhood festival, ‘CultuurlijnBosch & Vaart’, on 14th June 2009, interested partiescan mount the scaffolding to view to dome inits current poor state.When Stadsherstel Amsterdam (which is increasinglyactive in Haarlem) heard this news, it decidedto make a last-ditch attempt to save this uniquepiece of architecture. The restoration companyRescura was called in, and an inspection showedthat restoration was possible. The concrete wasstill in good shape, but the reinforcement on theoutside was completely rusted through. The stuccowork of the decorations on the concrete was also inpoor condition. Fortunately, one of the eight pillarswas still almost as good as new. This could be usedto make moulds for the repair of the stucco workon the other pillars. The two sphinxes that stood infront of the dome were also in reasonable conditionand were refurbished in the Rescura workshop.They are copies of the ones that stand in frontof Eindenhout House. The Haarlem municipalityprovided money to carry out the restoration.The Building of theGarden DomeThe dome was built in ‘artificial stone’ in 1915 bythe Amsterdam firm Rooker & Achterberg. It wascommissioned by the estate owner at that time,H.A. van Odijk. Odijk was the owner of the country’sbiggest rice mill, C. Kamphuys in Zaandam.The ‘temple’, as the Odijk family called the dome,served as a place of rest in the extensive gardens.The temple is similar to the 19th-century ‘Templeof Diana’ in the gardens of the Villa Pallavicini-Durazzo at Pegli near Genoa. The dome is also avery important piece of art history. It is regarded asa folly: a whimsical, artistic structure with no purposeexcept to decorate the surroundings and offera place to rest for a while.The dome is also a veryimportant piece of arthistory. It is regardedas a folly: a whimsical,artistic structure withno purpose except todecorate the surroundingsand offer a placeto rest for a while.24 | 25 |

What is Stadshersteldoing in Suriname?For many years, Stadsherstel has been workingwith the Stichting Herstelling (the RehabilitationFoundation) which helps young people who havesomehow ‘lost their way’ to find work and reintegrateinto society. These young people mainly workon building projects and on green areas outdoors.For example, Stichting Herstelling is active in FortDiemerdam and Zeehoeve Farm, both of whichwere restored by Stadsherstel. Stichting Herstellinghas a sister organisation in Suriname called CAO.It has the same objectives as Stichting Herstellingand is mainly active in and around Paramaribo.With such close ties with Suriname, it was thereforenot surprising that Stichting Herstelling becamethe intermediary when Stadsherstel was asked toprovide its knowledge in order to help found anothersister organisation: Stadsherstel Paramaribo.Paramaribo is a splendid city with Caribbeanarchitecture. The white wooden houses ‘float’ onblocks so that the wind can circulate underneaththem. But there are also many similar houses withbrick pavements and Dutch-style pointing. So itis with good reason that the city centre and thewaterfront area are on the UNESCO world heritagelist. But the city is also congested with motor trafficand its beauty is often tarnished by a considerablelack of maintenance. UNESCO protection does notunequivocally guarantee the maintenance of thecity’s architecture and structure. The many smallhouses, so characteristic of the city, are especiallythreatened with destruction, only to be replacedwith high-rise buildings that usually clash violentlywith their background.This situation is comparable to Amsterdam as itwas in the ‘fifties and ‘sixties. In those decades,Stadsherstel focused from the start on the smallerhouses in the minor streets, and much less on thebig houses that faced the canals. It was therefore nocoincidence that Suriname, and hence Amsterdamtoo, asked to make use of Stadsherstel’s expertise tohelp found Stadsherstel Paramaribo. The fact thatthe request came via Stichting Herstelling made iteven more direct. This led to deputy director JaapHulscher paying an initial visit to Suriname inJanuary 2007.On arrival in Paramaribo, Jaap Hulscher met thedirector of the Zuiderzee Museum, at that timeErik Schilp. He played an important role in foundingan open air museum in Fort New Amsterdam.This fort, about 10 kilometres north of Paramaribo,was built by the Dutch in the 18th Century and hasan almost exclusively Dutch biotope. On enteringand seeing the stone buildings, the mown grass,the moat and the ramparts, you get the feeling of acompletely Dutch environment. It served as a fortuntil the end of the 19 th Century and was subsequentlyused as a prison until after WW2. After that,the fort was slowly restored to create a delightfulrecreation spot at the confluence of the Surinameand Commewijn rivers. However, this was interruptedby independence and the Bouterse era.The fort was privatized in 2007, giving rise to theStichting Openluchtmuseum Fort Nieuw Amsterdam(Fort New Amsterdam Open Air MuseumFoundation, SOFNA). Because of the Dutch characterof the fort and its buildings, Erik Schilp offeredJaap Hulscher a position on the board, primarilyas architectural advisor. Hulscher agreed, and thatmeant that Stadsherstel was suddenly representedon two fronts in Surname. Not long afterwards, ErikSchilp joined the Supervisory Board of Stadsherstel.That’s how things go sometimes...To help set up Stadsherstel Paramaribo, in 2008Rob Boot went to Paramaribo on behalf of Stadsherstelin the role of resident advisor. In close cooperationwith Stichting Gebouwd Erfgoed Suriname(the Suriname Buildings Heritage Foundation,SGES), he is working to create an inventory of smallhouses to purchase. The intention is to establish anNV (public limited company) in 2010, with 60% ofthe share equity coming from the Suriname bankingsector, 20% from the Suriname Governmentin the form of real estate and 20% from the Netherlands.The NV will have almost exactly the sameform as Stadsherstel Amsterdam. On the other sideof the ocean, they too will be able to acquire, refurbish,maintain and let property after property.In the open air museum, the emphasis is nowmainly on the restoration of the Kruithuis (gunpowderwarehouse) after which it will be used asan exhibition area. Built in 1778, this is a typicalDutch building that is a very fitting part of a fort.However, it was never really suitable for its purposebecause this Dutch product did not stay very dryin the tropical rain forest. They clearly did not takethe saying ‘keep your powder dry’ to heart here, butfortunately very few shots were fired from Fort NewAmsterdam and most of those that were missed! Inthat sense, it is comparable with the AmsterdamDefence Lines, from which no shot was ever fired.This situation of Paramaribois comparableto Amsterdam as itwas in the ‘fifties and‘sixties.KruithuisBuilt in 1778, this is atypical Dutch buildingthat is a very fittingpart of a fort.26 | 27 |

‘Oud Nico’ Fire Station“These are big,striking buildings with anaura. They have historicvalue, beautifully colouredbrickwork; the way the lightshines in is also beautiful.Robust buildings where youwould feel at home if youlived here or attended aparty.”Bert DrosIn 2006, Stadsherstel took over a fire station called ‘Oud Nico’ (Old Nico) on De Ruyterkade,from the municipality. It was offered to us thanks to our good contacts with the MunicipalDevelopment Agency that had been created during the restoration of Pakhuis De Zwijger.Because of intensive discussions with the BuildingsAesthetics Committee regarding a sympatheticsolution for the additions needed for a change ofpurpose, it took a long time before the restorationplan was finalised. Eventually, however, thedevelopment phase was completed to everyone’ssatisfaction. The invitation to tender took place inFebruary. It was an unusual process because thestructural work, the electrical work and the mechanicalwork were each the subject of a separatecontract. There were therefore actually three tenderprocedures, each involving four contractors / installers.RestorationThe permits to build and to alter a listed buildinghave now been issued and ‘Old Nico’ will be restoredover the coming year and a half. Two smallextensions are being built at the rear of the premises.The architects’ practice for this restoration isCasa Architecten, already known to Stadsherstelfrom work on the Olympia House and ProfessorTulpstraat. A variety of consultancies have beencalled in for advice: Ingenieursbureau Linssen forthe mechanical systems, Jan-Willem Blomhoff forthe electrical systems and Evers Partners for theconstruction calculations. Together with Rockviewof Amsterdam, we subjected the masonry to athrough examination because facades and structuralwalls showed signs of many defects and saltefflorescence. It will be a remarkable restoration,with the premises remaining inhabited for the mostpart. This means that the contractors are expectedto stick to a tight planning schedule and respondadequately to unforeseen problems.It is expected that the premises should be handedover to the new tenants in mid-2011. There will bean area of about 500 m² to let in the main buildingand about 150 m² in the adjacent building, theformer smithy. In the main building, the groundfloor can be divided into smaller units if necessaryfor easier letting. The residents and artists on theupper floors will also retain their old places afterthe restoration. The Netherlands Mountain SportsAssociation – which makes use of the climbingtower – has moved to Sloten in the meantime, butthe marks on the back wall remain a reminder of 50years of mountaineering practice. When the associationofficially departed in the summer of 2009,it was agreed that some commemoration of themountaineering connection should be mounted onthe rear wall of the restored building.Main Watch ‘N’The rather unusual name ‘Old Nico’ is derivedfrom the station’s predecessor, the ‘Waag op deNieuwmarkt’ (Weighhouse on the New Market).Fire station ‘N’ adopted this as its base in 1874. Inthat year, Amsterdam became the first city in theNetherlands to get a completely full-time, professionalfire brigade. New fire stations were also built.These stations were given a telegraphic designationwith a code letter. In the phonetic alphabet, theletters were allocated personal names and, in thecourse of time, these names became applied to thestations themselves. Main watch ‘N’ became firestation ‘Nico’.In 1890, the fire station was moved from the oldWeighhouse to the banks of the River IJ, wherea new building was established, designed by theassistant city architect Willem Springer. The trainingcentre was also set up here and a practice towerwas built at the rear for this purpose. Station Nicoalso covered Amsterdam North, because that areastill only had a volunteer fire brigade. The steampoweredfire boat ‘Jason’ was moored just outside.In 1973, the fire brigade moved again, this time toits current location at the start of the IJ tunnel. Itlost the name ‘Nico’ at that point, but the buildingon the banks of the River IJ would always be knownas ‘Old Nico’ from now on. After the building lostits function as a fire station, the fire brigade personnelwere allowed to carry on living in the Old Nicoapartments. The other areas were taken over asstudios.28 | 29 |

National MonumentWhen the IJ Riverside municipality started to develop,this became a threat to the existence of thestately building designed by the architect Springer.Tall office buildings rose up all around, and anincrease in building density by De Ruyterkade wasalso permitted in the local plan. With the help ofthe Cuypersgenootschap, the Bond Heemschutand the Amsterdam Council for the Preservationof Historic Buildings, the residents were successfulin getting their building designated as a nationalmonument. After various developers had come totheir wits’ end with this historic building, the municipalityapproached Stadsherstel.There will be an area ofabout 500 m² to let inthe main building andabout 150 m² in theadjacent building, theformer smithy.Amongst all the stark new buildings in the riversidesector of the city, the fire station stands out with itsrichly decorated facade. Next year, when you drivepast Pakhuis de Zwijger, you will be able to see abeautifully restored building a little further on andon the other side of the road!30 | 31 |

Restoration ofBakenesser ChurchBegins“It has become a highlyesteemed project. It lookedbeautiful. And I loved thestory that Paul Morel toldabout it. Even better was thefact that it is now home toarchaeological findings.”Hicham EzzerariSince 31 st December 2009, Stadsherstel has been the proud owner of the Bakenesser Church inHaarlem. However, we have been involved in the redevelopment of the building since 2007.One day in September 2007, Paul Morel heardthe following message on his voicemail: “Can youcome and visit me at the town hall on Monday at09.00?” The message was from Chris van Velzen.“Who is Chris van Velzen?” Paul asked his colleaguesfrom Haarlem. “He is the Alderman,” theyreplied. “Oh well, I’d better go then!” said Paul. Andthat was the start of it.Structural FaultsIt turned out that the Alderman wanted to ask Stadsherstelto take a look at the Bakenesser Church. Apreliminary inspection of the church immediatelyrevealed that restoration or even major maintenancewas urgently required. The roof was leakingand the guttering and drainpipes were blocked orbroken. As a result, water had been running downthe walls for a long time, damaging much of thepointing and loosening bricks. But there were evenmore structural faults, such as vertical cracks in thewalls and damaged leaded glass windows.The latter were serious, but not the biggest problem.“What can we use this building for?” This wasthe question that both Van Velzen and Stadsherstelwere asking themselves. On the back of a visitingcard, the Alderman made an initial calculation ofrevenue. An exhibition by Ans Markus, followedby ‘Haarlem on the Map’, would cover the interestcosts in the first year after the purchase. The conclusion,clear and simple, was that this would allowHaarlem to buy the church from its owner, Minerva,in 2008. And so it was done: the church waspurchased and the exhibitions were held. Then itall went quiet as far as Stadsherstel was concerned,but towards the end of 2009, Haarlem bouncedback. A good tenant had been found, the ArchaeologyDepartment of the municipal executive. TheProject Management Bureau had drawn up a restorationplan and the construction firm AannemingsbedrijfHolleman & Zonen had made a competitiveoffer. However, the municipal executive wanted tohave an experienced advisor for the restoration andasked Stadsherstel to take on this role. In the end,it was found that the best solution for both partieswas for Stadsherstel to purchase the church as welland that took place on the last day of last year.RestorationShortly afterwards it became possible to start thework. After all, the design was already complete,the tender process had taken place, and the permitshad been granted. So on 11 th February, AldermanVan Velzen gave the official starting signal asthe bells rang out. The work is being carried out byHolleman & Zonen under the direction of MartinBusker of the Project Management Bureau, withassistance from Stadsherstel.Together with Anja van Zalinge, Director of theArchaeology Department, the Alderman unveiledthe construction sign at a ceremony attended by 60guests. Prior to the unveiling, the Alderman gave ashort speech about the good cooperation betweenthe Haarlem municipality and Stadsherstel. JaapHulscher, Deputy Director of Stadsherstel, alsospoke in praise of the mutual cooperation, emphasisingthat it is mainly thanks to the municipalitythat Stadsherstel is now so active in Haarlem.HistoryThe Bakenesser Church, a national monument, islocated in the Bakenes quarter of the city betweenBakenessergracht and the River Spaarne. The placeof worship was founded as the Chapel of Our Ladyby William II, Count of Holland and Zeeland from1234 to 1256. The current building originates fromthe 15th Century. The oldest mention of it is from1486 and relates to the western part of the churchand the bottom part of the tower. The top part ofthe tower dates from the beginning of the sixteenthcentury and was originally intended for the GroteKerk (Large Church) by the Grote Markt (LargeMarket). However, because it proved too heavy for32 | 33 |

the church’s cross-pillars, the structure was takendown again and eventually used for the Church ofOur Lady.The tower remains the property of the Haarlemmunicipality, which had work done on the clockfrom the 8 th to the 10 th of February, with the resultthat it now keeps proper time. After standing silentfor years, the automatic carillon will now onceagain regularly ring out its beautiful melodies.However, to minimise disturbance to people in theneighbourhood, the instrument will be turned offin the late evening.The Bakenesser Church, a national monument, is located inthe Bakenes quarter of the city of Haarlem between Bakenessergrachtand the River Spaarne.“There are marks on thebuilding that tell a story– you can see a number ofniches high in the walls ofthe corridor on the groundfloor. These once heldbeams that supported afloor. The room above wasa refuge for people hidingfrom the Germans duringthe Second World War!”Peter GoutbeekHerengracht 24934 | 35 |

Stadsherstel and CSRCorporate Social ResponsibilityStadsherstel has been restoring buildings for overhalf a century now, but also moves with the times.That has to be the case, because there is alwaysinnovation in building. These days, the innovationsare very much shaped by the realisation thatthe earth’s resources, including energy, are finite.Reducing environmental impact and energy consumptionare therefore important themes, and areparticularly important when it comes to new buildingand new legislation on building. But we alsodevote attention to this issue at Stadsherstel.Stadsherstel has introduced the concept of CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) into its way of working.CSR means that when decisions are made, you haveto examine whether they are good for people, theplanet and profit.Restoration is in any case good for the planet becausemany materials are reused. A restored environmentis also good for people, being a pleasant one in whichto live and reside, and for appreciation of culture andhistory. And even if Stadsherstel is a public limitedcompany with a social goal, it still has to make a profitin order to carry on operating. It is thanks to the factthat all the projects over the past fifty years have madejust enough revenue that Stadsherstel still exists.But there is more to it than that.Pilot ProjectHerengracht 249The restoration of the listed historic building Herengracht249 is being carried out as a pilot projectin Corporate Social Responsibility. Every possiblemeans of increasing sustainability is being studiedand, if feasible, employed. The intention is to learna lot from the project for application in future restorations.Promoting the education of young tradespeople isalso part of the social task of both the contractorand the principal. Stadsherstel therefore insiststhat the contractor establishes the building site asone where teaching takes place. This is not new,but it does focus the attention. Thanks to the factthat both the architects, Architectenbureau Emma,and the contractor, Vios-Scheurer, enthusiasticallyaccepted the challenge to make a CSR pilot of theHerengracht project, many ideas were put forwardand we were able to learn from these.Sustainable SolutionsAs well as the use of eco-friendly and recycled materialsand the installation of optimum insulation,other, less obvious sustainable solutions have beenbrought in. Some have already become fairly standard– such as installing LED lighting with motiondetectors in the common areas – while others areonly just out of the development phase and havenot been used very much yet.For example, a new, advanced system is being usedto heat the apartments. This is connected to thehigh-yield boiler and draws heat from the air outside.The system will function in temperatures aslow as minus 15C and should save at least 35%. Incombination with low-temperature floor heating,the saving could be even greater.Domestic appliances that use hot water usuallyheat it less efficiently than a high-yield boiler. Forthat reason, ‘hot fill’ systems are used for the washingmachine and dish washer, with hot water beingpumped from the central heating boiler directlyinto the machines so that they do not have to heatit themselves. It is a technology that is not widelyused but is nevertheless very useful.Unfeasible IdeasOn the other hand, some ideas proved unfeasibleeither because they were too expensive, or prohibitedby regulations or met with practical objections.Ideas that came up included transporting buildingmaterials via the canals (this proved impossiblebecause a separate crane would be needed for unloading)and extracting heat from the water in thecanals (which could not be done because, amongother things, the scale was too small to make theinvestment profitable).Installing solar panels on the roof was also suggestedin the design process, but it was found that therewas too little flat roof surface. Moreover, the MunicipalHousing Inspectorate would probably nothave given permission for this. Collecting rainwaterto create a grey water circuit for flushing toilets wasalso not possible, partly because there was no roomfor the large tank that would be needed. Anotherthing that proved impossible because of lack ofspace was a heat recycling system for the shower.This would have returned heat from the shower waterto the central heating boiler as it drained away.There was not enough space to accommodate thepipework.No radical solution has yet been found for insulatingthe windows. The proposed secondary glazingwould have proved very expensive and would alsohave been aesthetically unpleasing. Where replacementis necessary, however, laminated glass isused. This looks acceptable and has better insulatingproperties than traditional, single-layer glass.In this way, Stadsherstel is using this pilot projectto gain the necessary experience of energy-savingtechnologies. The current state of affairs is carefullyassessed and the work is evaluated in a differentway. It is clear that technology does not stand still.We have to carry on learning so that we can makeour restorations ever more eco-friendly in the future.The restoration of Herengracht 249 is an example of the conceptCRS that Stadsherstel recently embraced.36 | 37 |

Persistence pays off:The ‘Oude Molen’becomes the‘Akermolen’ again“The most exciting thingabout this lovely buildingis the tunnel from the oldpumping works, which youcan see under the glass in thecafé!”Christine HuijssenHas the stump of a mill that was known for decadessimply as ‘the old mill’ (it even became its acceptedname) the right to get its old name back? Yes! Everybodyis agreed that the ‘Oude Molen’ (Old Mill)should be called the ‘Akermolen’ again. It still lacksvanes but, following the complete restoration, itreally is not just ‘an old mill’ anymore.For over ten years Stadsherstel and Stichting deOude Molen (the Old Mill Foundation) have foughtto preserve the Akermolen, and finally it paid off:on 2 September 2010, the old parties ‘for’ and‘against’ came together with various parties whohad joined the fray along the way to raise a glassto the completion of the restoration of this specialpiece of heritage.In addition to its new function as a teahouse (runby people with a mental disability), the mill has aninformation centre. Here one can find informationnot only on the history and restoration of the mill,but also about the history of the local area and sitesof cultural, historical and recreational interest inthe neighbourhood.FerryStadsherstel’s deputy director Jaap Hulscher was themaster of ceremonies at the official opening, introducingthe three speeches. Harry van Gerwen, thechairman of Stichting de Oude Molen, and AchmedBaâdoud, the chairman of the Nieuw-West Borough,spoke about their ten years of involvement with themill. Bart Heller of the Noord-Holland ProvincialExecutive spoke on behalf of Stichting Mainport enGroen, which financed the ferry service across theRing Canal, and symbolically presented the ferryto Jaap Hulscher. The ferry is very important to thesuccess of this project as it makes the Akermolen thehub of an extensive leisure network.Open DaysIt became clear that the mill would be a success inthe weekend after the official opening, when opendays were held for local residents, donors and otherinterested parties. Over a thousand people visitedthe mill over that weekend and the ferry went backand forth at least a hundred times. The days weredelightful, thanks to the warm sunshine. Manypeople enjoyed coffee and cakes on the terrace.On Sunday, Stadherstel presented a free, open-airtheatre performance, ‘Yurko, the smallest giant inthe world’. At least 250 adults and children watchedthis family performance. It was very nice to see howthe gathering place was used. It was used in exactlythe same way that all the parties involved had intended(and actually even better). It was intendedthat the mill should become an information centrefor leisure activities in the area, and that is whathappened. The booklets and cycling route mapssimply flew from the shelves. It was intended to bea project for the neighbourhood, and with this levelof commitment it is on the right track. The painterand the builder steered the ferry together with avolunteer, and many visitors congratulated eachother on the result achieved.Peat Extraction from theMiddelveldsche AkerpolderThe Akermolen was rebuilt in its current place in1874 on the orders of the administrative committeefor a polder known as the ‘Middelveldsche Akerpolder’.The history therefore goes back even furtherthan that. This pumping mill, which stood atthe edge of the Lutkemeer (drained ten years previously),replaced the old, derelict Ackermolen fromthe 17th Century. The mill used wind power to turna paddle wheel in order to pump water. It is still notclear where the new Akermolen came from. Thepolder administration only recorded that it camefrom “elsewhere”. This can be read in the minutes ofthe April 1874 meeting of the executive committeeof the Haarlemmermeer Water Board, relating tothe request to relocate the mill to the Ringvaartdijk(Ring Canal Dike). The relocation was connectedwith the anticipated favourable pumping positionupon completion of the planned peat diggings.In 1875, the national government gave the polder38 | 39 |

administration a concession to extract peat fromthe polder; this was still in great demand as fuel inthe growing city of Amsterdam.Conversion to ScrewPrincipleWhen the peat extraction was completed in 1896,the water table had to be lowered by over threemetres to guarantee dry feet for the farmers andmarket gardeners who were to occupy the polder.This could not be achieved with the paddle wheeland a new, stone screw channel was laid centrallyunder the mill. Both channels still exist, under andpartly behind the mill. A quarter of a century later,in 1921, the windmill was replaced by an electricpump house at the base of the dike. The wind wastoo fickle to provide the required drainage of thepolder, which was now fully occupied by farms andmarket gardens. The superstructure of the mill wasremoved and the remainder was converted into livingaccommodation for the polder master.The Akermolen in 2008,before the restorationMilitary FunctionThe waterworks, which are still located underthe mill remains, were used not only to keep theAkerpolder dry, but also to flood it in time of war.In this function, the mill formed part of the waterengineering works of the Amsterdam Line, the forerunnerof the Amsterdam Defence Lines. For thisreason, the Minister for War had to be involved inthe rebuilding. With the creation of the AmsterdamDefence Lines, which were started in 1883, the oldLine lost its primary military function. The southwestflank, where the mill was located, was neverthelessincorporated into the new defence works asa secondary line.With thanks to Dr Han Stricker, a volunteer withStichting De Oude Molen, who kindly researched thehistory of the Akermolen.The Akermolen in 2010,after the restoration40 | 41 |

Oudezijds armsteeg“Lovely project. So specialbecause of the locationwithin the city, andparticularly because of theenthusiastic colleagues frombrewery De Prael”Leora Boot1 (Translator’s note)Museum of the Churchof our Lord in the Attic.This refers to a ‘hidden’church from the dayswhen Roman Catholicswere not allowed toworship openly.Stadsherstel Amsterdam has refurbished variousproperties in the oldest part of Amsterdam and,for several years now, it has been active in what isreferred to as the ‘Cluster Arm’, situated betweenOudezijds Voorburgwal, Oudezijds Armsteeg, Warmoesstraatand Heintje Hoeksteeg.The ‘Centrum’ borough, the central municipal counciland the Coalition Project 1012 are keen to see anupgrading of this part of the city, which contains,among other things, many low-quality catering establishments,brothels and ‘coffee shops’. The ClusterArm is intended to be created as an attractive entrypoint to the city in line with the ‘Amsterdam TopCity’ concept and we are keen to work with all partiesin order to achieve this objective.We do this by looking for tenants who can makea positive contribution to the area. Quite oftenthese are not the highest-bidding businesses, butbusinesses that can improve and strengthen theproject. On the other hand, Stadsherstel also helpsto achieve its objectives by restoring monuments,bringing about attractive new building and ensuringthat historic buildings get protected status. Inthe framework of this project, Stadsherstel has purchasedthe remains of a building (which was servingas a garage) and constructed a replica of the originalbuilding. A replica was a fitting addition to the row offacades in this part of town, although it is a differentcase with Oudezijds Armsteeg.On the Armsteeg, Stadsherstel took over a pieceof ground from the municipality where six smallproperties once stood. Because Stadsherstel hadalready been in consultation with various ownersof the Cluster Arm and the municipality for years, itwas clear that the intention was to turn OudezijdsArmsteeg into a clean, positive and attractive streetthat is favourable for business. At the same time, itwas to be an attractive thoroughfare for tourists asthey make their way from the Central Station to theMuseum Onze Lieve Heer op Solder 1 on OudezijdsVoorburgwal. It was therefore decided that bright,attractive new buildings were in order.The new construction was inspired by the worldfamousminiature houses in Delft Blue that KLMRoyal Dutch Airlines presents as gifts to its passengersin First Class. Although foreigners regard theDelft Blue miniatures as typical Dutch houses, youcould not really find such houses anywhere in theNetherlands; but with the Armsteeg project, this wasabout to change! We therefore anticipate that thiswill become a fine tourist attraction and through cooperationwith two other relatively small attractionsin the area (the Oude Kerk and the Museum OnzeLieve Heer op Solder), it should help to bring thispart of the town the improvement that it deserves,making it a more attractive environment to live in,work in or visit.Even in the preparation phase, Stadsherstel wasconstantly on the lookout for a bigger tenant thatcould provide various functions, thereby generatinga positive image towards various multiple aspectsof the planning area. De Prael Brewery became thattenant and a small-scale, traditional brewery nowoccupies the historic Auction House in the interiorof the planning area, and there is also a specialistbeer shop in a building on Oude-zijds Voorburgwal.The brewery’s bar will be installed in two of the DelftBlue houses, with a view onto to the brewery. Theother houses will provide accommodation for small,attractive shops or studios.De Prael Brewery offers occupational therapy forpeople with long-term psychiatric disorders. Thesepeople can work in the bar, the shop or the brewery,or they can lead tours, thereby endowing the AuctionHouse with a new and improved function. DePrael works together with many other social organisationswith the result that this project not onlydelivers a positive result for the area but also createsa much broader impression. De Prael also helpedwith the realisation of this project in the constructionphase. For example, various customers chippedoff bricks that were later reused in the AuctionHouse. In this way they were already able to get usedto their new working environment and make a positivecontribution to their project.At present, Stichting Herstelling (see Fort Diemerdam)is working in premises on Warmoesstraat thatare intended to become a temporary pub for DePrael. In this way, we are trying to create an attractiveproduct together with various social organisations,so that everyone can be proud of their work.Stadsherstel has adopted a pioneering role in thisarea with the intention that this positive projectshould create a flywheel effect. This fine project, ofwhich Stadsherstel is very proud, was completed in2010.42 | 43 |

Although foreignersregard the Delft Blueminiatures as typicalDutch houses, youcould not really findsuch houses anywherein the Netherlands;but with the Armsteegproject, this was aboutto change!44 | 45 |

the old towerA Vanished DreamBecause the rebuilding of the Haringpakkerstoren (Herring Packers’ Tower) would endangerAmsterdam’s chances of gaining a place on the World Heritage list, Stadsherstel decided to turndown the project. Deputy Director Jaap Hulscher thinks it is a shame that this ‘dream opportunity’could not be made use of. His account follows below.the vanished dreamThe Haringpakkerstorenin a 1687 paintingby Jacobus StorckIt was late one afternoon at the end of 2004. GuidoFrankfürther, an executive member for the relevantAmsterdam borough, came to talk with Stadsherstel.He asked if we wanted to help finance asteeple. Which steeple? On a reconstruction of theold Haringpakkerstoren. What? The Haringpakkerstoren,one of the old towers of Amsterdam, whichwas demolished at the beginning of the nineteenthcentury. This memorable conversation eventuallyled, via a few diversions, to Stadsherstel’s initiativeto take the entire reconstruction of this tower complexin hand.Ready Made PlanThere was a ready made plan by architect Paulvan Well, a detailed study (on which the plan wasbased) of the tower’s history, and an overview ofold images in which the tower was depicted. Notphotos, of course – it had been demolished severaldecades too early for that – but there were over ahundred prints; some of them seemed to be accuratedepictions, while others were free interpretations,but they all clearly showed that this towerhad been part of the old Amsterdam skyline. Itsaugust presence was mainly due to the magnificentspire that city architect Hendrick de Keyser haderected on the mediaeval substructure. Picture thetop of the Montelbaanstoren, but somewhat biggerwith a magnificent lead and slate covering onan ingenious oak frame that could withstand anystorm.But is that acceptable, to reconstruct a tower thatis only known from old prints on a prominent sitein the city centre? A tower that hasn’t been seen inliving memory and is only held in the mind’s eyeof connoisseurs of the city’s history? As an urbanrestorer, you get used to reconstructing buildings.After all, you try to restore derelict buildings andsometimes reconstruct ones that disappeared altogetherin order to maintain the fabric of the historicurban landscape. And at the same time this fabrichas to leave space for healthy future developmentin a living city. On the other hand, a radical movelike rebuilding a tower of 45 metres in height isquite a different matter, requiring careful weighingof the pros and cons.a Dreamed OpportunityI won’t bore you with all these deliberations. Inany case, they were brought up often enough in thepublic debate. Predictably, they involved the eternaldispute about how to approach the city, aboutauthentic and inauthentic and what is beautiful orugly. To be honest, I considered all the arguments,but what won in the end was the desire to turn aunique dream into reality. After all, who gets thechance to realise a project of this kind these days?To build a tower that will certainly make its markon the old city centre, raise questions, relate historyand eventually become a piece of history in its ownright? Whenever would you get another chance toerect such a classic structure, using wood sizes andattachments that you learned about but were neveryet able to make? When would you get anotherchance to acquaint a generation of young builders,who are interested in old, traditional crafts, withthese building methods? A dreamed opportunity.In the end, it remains a dream. The dream was dispelledby the strict requirements set by the city inits bid for World Heritage status. Personally, I neverhad any doubt that Amsterdam would be nominated.As an Amsterdammer, I found it incrediblethat UNESCO had not already designated the cityas such on its own initiative. The concept of the beltof canals, with the world history that can be read init, is in a category of its own. That tower would nothave detracted anything from it. At most, it wouldhave been viewed as a remarkable piece of constructionby some and as a splendid urban adornmentby others. Now all we have left are some moredrawings and a meaningless, untidy city site on thecorner of Singel and Prins Hendrikkade.46 | 47 |

ColofonThanks to:Ernest AnnyasAlex BlommestijnWim EggenkampStella van HeezikGijs HoenMonique HollenkampJaap HulscherPaul MorelTon NuijenPeter PrinsThomas SchlijperRenate UijtewaalRemco VermeulenTranslation:TxT WorksDesign:Kamiel VorwerkPhoto cover:Ernest AnnyasStadsherstel Amsterdam N.V. | 2011Amstelveld 101017 JG Amsterdam+31-20-520 0060www.stadsherstel.nlinfo@stadsherstel.nlSGS-COC-243848 |