Huis Boevé Rotterdam
Conservation, reconstruction and the transformation (from house to office space) of an internationally re-known villa dating from the Modern Movement in the Netherlands, while keeping the integrity and the character of this special house and its premises; this was the task Molenaar & Co architecten were commissioned to do in 2010, to transform this white villa which stands across the street from the Boijmans Museum, into an office space for its new owner. This house was built in 1933 and was originally the home and office of Dr. Boevé. The villa was designed by the architecture firm of Brinkman Van der Vlugt in the “Nieuwe Zakelijkheid” style, the name for the Dutch Functionalist style during the Modern Movement. It is a listed national monument and is part of the Rotterdam museum quarter.
The original plan of the house had a functional and compact layout with a marked separation between the public workspace and the private living spaces of the family which was further divided into separate areas for the parents, children and servants. The villa underwent several function changes through the years, mostly to office space, consequently losing its original logical layout. These changes were however easily realized due to the house’s flexible construction consisting of steel-frame structure and wooden floors. The many changes were therefore possible without significantly losing the character of the house. During the design process we addressed the original structure of the house which led to a new logical layout composed of a spacious entry hall and representative office spaces on the ground floor and an open staircase connecting to the second floor and roof level. In addition to the spatial interventions, an intensive restoration and conservation was carried out on the steel frame windows, the balustrades and railings, the fences and the exterior stucco and brickwork.
Project information
client
Sakato Holding bv, Barendrecht
location
Museumpark 9, Rotterdam
completion
2010-'11
completed at
Eigen beheer
photography by
Jannes Linders