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Touwslagerflat residential building

Touwslagerflat residential building
Stadsarchief Rotterdam

We see this demonstrated very clearly in the residential building by J.W.H. Pot and J.F. Pot-Keegstra on Lage Oostzeedijk, between Dijkstraat and Speelmanstraat, which is completely freestanding. Although we have already objected to the fact that the living rooms face onto the busy traffic road, this block must still be viewed as a gem in the new Kralingen.

As far as we are concerned, the building could even have been slightly taller, especially because of its low siting and the industrial building across the road, but it is nonetheless of pleasant proportions, while the fortunate alternation of broad white strips of the balconies and front rooms with the vertical strips of brickwork between them lends the entire composition a surprising harmony.

Rein Blijstra in: Het Vrije Volk, 29 September 1951

Good Living thanks to the female architect

At a time when very few women practiced architecture, the architecture couple Pot stood out. Koosje Keegstra (1908-1997) was the only girl at the Haarlem vocational school and the Amsterdam Higher Architectural Training College, where she met Joop Pot (1909-1972). Founded in 1938, the architecture firm J.W.H.C. Pot and J.F. Pot-Keegstra specialized in non-standard housing for singles, nurses, senior citizens and students. The last major project carried out almost completely by Pot-Keegstra was the Bijlmerbajes prison in Amsterdam. Pot-Keegstra was particularly skilled at designing small yet practical and functional homes, characteristic of the post-war period and the principles of Good Living. The use of brick often made the architecture look traditional.

Touwslagerflat residential building
Stadsarchief Rotterdam

For singles

The residential building on Oostzeedijk Beneden contains a large number of small homes for singles and childless families. The architects had won a limited competition organized by the Board of General Commissioners for Post-War Construction. The architects thought it was very special that they, from Amsterdam, could carry out a commission in Rotterdam.

Touwslagerflat residential building

In the architecture, the designers expressed in an unforced way that this building is a collection of dwellings and some organs for general use. In this living community the home retains its individualizing function, yet this simple fact does not dominate the architecture. In terms of architecture and urban design, this building, made up of smaller living units, forms a valuable addition to the normal multi-storey structures elsewhere in Kralingen.

A. Viergever in: Bouwkundig Weekblad, 1951

Touwslagerflat residential building
Stadsarchief Rotterdam

‘Short-stay bike shed’ and guestrooms

The building consists of five floors of flats, accessed from galleries. Partly owing to its position beside the elevated Oostzeedijk, the ground floor is fully occupied by storage units. The entrance and main staircase are positioned on the eastern side of the building. On each floor there is one slightly larger flat on this side of the building, with additional windows and a balcony in the end wall. Next to the emergency staircase at the western end is another non-standard flat, also with a balcony in the end wall. The other balconies are largely recessed into the south facade. A number of guest rooms are located under the roof at the eastern end.

The main staircase is trapezium-shaped, and there are two lifts. Owing to the high costs, only one lift was initially installed. The main entrance leads to a spacious hallway with a porter’s lodge and a ‘short-stay bike shed' (for visitors). There are a total of 40 standard flats, 5 western corner flats, 3 eastern corner flats and a caretaker’s flat. The guest accommodation consists of three single rooms and a twin room with shared shower and toilet and is accessible via an internal staircase.

Touwslagerflat residential building

Viewed technically, the plan shows an uncomplicated brick building without illogical details. The ground floor and upper levels are made of reinforced concrete with wooden floor finishes. The staircases, balconies, gallery floors and the columns along the gallery are also made of reinforced concrete. The continuous gallery columns are positioned to achieve a sense of enclosure. All exposed concrete surfaces are left unplastered because everything was poured into smooth formwork. This was also the case with the balconies, with vertical profiling and in-situ flower pots, on the south side, and the balustrade walls with coffering along the gallery on the north facade.

A. Viergever in: Bouwkundig Weekblad, 1951

Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021

Cardboard

Architecturally, it is a fairly traditional looking building, especially with its pitched roof. The use of brick and the distinctive bevelled corners of the loggia and balconies lend the front facade in particular a traditional appearance. The use of concrete and the continuous columns gives the gallery facade a much more modern appearance. Plenty of facing brickwork has been used in the public spaces. The use of the Flemish masonry bond creates a sense of vibrancy. In Het Vaderland of 25 February 1953 the critic expressed little enthusiasm: Here the proportions lack nothing in clarity, but they are remarkably insensitive; the structure does not “live”. It no doubt has a striking appearance, but it is reminiscent of a cardboard structure. But the columnist in Het Vrije Volk of 6 October 1950 was impressed: The front facade with its five long galleries is beautiful, especially in the evening when tiny bright lamps glow, making it look very like the proud deck of the Nieuw Amsterdam ship. And the rather enthusiastic Blijstra in the first quote is of the view, in Het Vrije Volk of 22 September 1951, that the siting in relation to the busy Oostzeedijk is unfortunate, certainly considering the target group for the homes: For they will mostly be intellectuals who chose for homes of this kind, and so they will have to work on the side where the noise volume is loudest, because the gallery is positioned along the quiet Touwslagerstraat.

Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021

Today

The original timber window frames have been replaced by PVC. An extra lift has been added to the north side. The Touwslagerflat belongs to the Stadswonen Rotterdam student housing association. It lets the 46 two-room apartments, with an average area of 48 m2, for a base rent of 480 euros (2021 price level) per month, which is strikingly modest. The homes are intended for so-called ‘movers’, tenants of Stadswonen who have started to work after completing their studies.

Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Touwslagerflat residential building
Marlies Lageweg, Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam, 2021
Architect
J.W.H.C. Pot & J.F. Pot-Keegstra
Period
1948-1950
Location
Touwslagersstraat 2-20, Rotterdam, Nederland
Subjects
Buildings
Neighborhoods
Kralingen
Buildings
Living