- Articles
Housing Gijsinglaan
The five buildings at the Gijsinglaan differ from the surrounding. In combination with the nearby shops they refer a bit to the Lijnbaan shopping district,
The municipal executive has presented to the city council a plan to construct 360 homes on eight floors and 20 garages between Schiedamseweg and Tweede Gijsingstraat. Of the 360 homes, 280 can accommodate five, 40 can accommodate four, and 40 can accommodate three people. The buildings will be fitted with lifts, central heating, pressure water installations and home telephones. Shared gardens will be included, and each lower floor will have its own garden.
Het Vrije Volk, 5 April 1957
The five blocks of flats at the end of Schiedamseweg are the final pieces in the reconstruction of Tussendijken. The architecture of the project deviates considerably from the surrounding residential development, and is also completely autonomous in terms of urban design. Indeed, it has more the character of a post-war suburb. Together with the row of shops built some years previously, the blocks form an ensemble somewhat reminiscent of the Lijnbaan.
Ensemble
The shops occupy a low-rise block with just one recessed floor above, containing flats. At the rear the shops open onto a sort of service street that doesn’t really function as such because the tall blocks of flats are connected to the shops by a volume containing garages. The medium-rise blocks of flats overlook green areas, with balconies favourably oriented to the west. The gallery-access flats are less conspicuous because they are positioned diagonally with respect to Schiedamseweg, enhancing the perspectival effect. This is the only part of Rotterdam where high-rise blocks have been built within the existing urban design. However, high-rise structures have been realized in many places around the city in the shape of individual residential slabs, among them the Parkflat and the RVS flat.
The first pile was driven into the ground on 19 June 1957 and the blocks were completed over the course of 1959. They were designed by the architecture firm of J. Denijs, J.A. Lucas, H.E. Niemeijer. Jan Denijs (1893-1970) had worked for the City Housing Department and had already completed similar blocks of flats in Overschie. The young architects Jan Lucas (1917-2005) and Henk Niemeijer (1917-1970) from The Hague built vast quantities of homes during the reconstruction period.
Those buildings with shops are remarkable in both shape and design. From a distance they look like villas; just one floor tall and above that a green roof, seemingly covered in copper. Roofs of copper were indeed the intention at the start. Instead, however, they used a granular green slate, a type of Ruberoid membrane, and the effect is by no means diminished. The shops feature tall display windows, and the flats above also boast a wealth of glass. Moreover, a balcony stretches across their full width. It might seem strange with four-floor buildings on one side and this villa type here. But blocks of flats of up to eight or ten floors will rise up on the site behind the shops, perpendicular to Schiedamseweg.
Het Vrije Volk, 30 June 1951
Raised ground floor
The blocks of flats have a straightforward layout. At the bottom is a recessed basement level containing storage spaces. On top of this is the ground floor, slightly raised above the level of the street and shared garden. The main entrances are located along Gijsinglaan, where freestanding structures containing a lift and staircase offer access to the galleries. The flats are not mirrored, resulting in a varied facade composition, thanks in part to the partly recessed balconies. Enclosing the balconies are balustrades of ribbed concrete panels.
Entrance pavilion
The blocks of flats have a straightforward layout. At the bottom is a recessed basement level containing storage spaces. On top of this is the ground floor, slightly raised above the level of the street and shared garden. The main entrances are located along Gijsinglaan, where freestanding structures containing a lift and staircase offer access to the galleries. The flats are not mirrored, resulting in a varied facade composition, thanks in part to the partly recessed balconies. Enclosing the balconies are balustrades of ribbed concrete panels.
Today
In 1985 the gardens were closed off along Gijsinglaan by low-rise blocks containing 67 homes for seniors, designed by Boudewijn Mannot of Groosman architects. The residents of the flats protested against these additions because they would reduce the quality of daylight in their homes. The well-intended yet typically cheap urban renewal architecture now clashes with the blocks of flats. As a result, the elegant entrance pavilions are no longer freestanding structures. In addition, the external steps in the entrance pavilions have been enclosed by a glazed wall.
- Architect
- J. Denijs, J.A. Lucas, H.E. Niemeijer
- Period
- 1956-1959
- Location
- Gijsinglaan, Rotterdam, Nederland
- Subjects
- Buildings
- Neighborhoods
- Bospolder Tussendijken
- Buildings
- Living