Papaverhof

Jan Wils

Jan Wils (Alkmaar, 1891 - Voorburg, 1972) was the son of a building contractor in Alkmaar, and his practical methods might be explained through his time spend in the working space of his father. Wils can count himself to one of the autodidacts of his generation, as he only took evening courses for construction drawing in Alkmaar. In The Hague he worked for Hendrik Berlage, who had a deep impact on him by encouraging his social engagement and bringing him in contact with Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. Jan Wils established his own firm in The Hague in 1916, where he hired Piet Zwart as a drafter from 1919-1922. Wils was shortly part of the Group around the journal ‘De Stijl’, and the contacts with the artistic scene influenced him deeply.

Construction

The Cooperative Residential Construction Association Garden City Neighborhood ‘Daal en Berg’ initiated in 1917 the project for a Garden City in between The Hague and Loosduinen. After a discussing if a competition should be launched, the negative arguments from the commissioner of the association, Hendrik Berlage, took the overhand. But, because of completely neglecting the municipal extension plan in their design, the first elected architects M.J. Granpré Molière and P. Verhagen were passed over for Jan Wils, following Berlage's suggestion. The cooperative had many respect for the architect and this permitted him to design atypical housing for that period.

The 128 middle class dwellings Jan Wils designed were configured as two horseshoes around a lawn square, which would create the spatial effect of a Garden City. The inner ring consisted in 68 two stories high family houses and the outer circle was composed of 60 later on designed apartments. The organization of the dwellings was specific though its ‘back to back’ configuration, which multiplied the facades with light and air supply for the kitchen and bedrooms without lowering the density of the neighborhood.

Jan Wils breaks with the typical dwellings plan of the early twenties by creating a rhythmic composition of cubes and planes without a specific front nor back. The interior breaks as well with the classical patterns of an underused best room and tiny back room by designing one big living room of 7 x 4,25 meter. Because of the 60 centimeters interior floor difference between the side entrance and the living area, also the exterior detachment of the main mass jumps out. With the repetition of the module it creates a rhythmical collective façade with two singular ends.

The original plans to mold the entire complex out of cinders concrete were put aside when de poor quality of the first 30 houses was ascertained and the cost benefits came out to be minimal. All the other housing is constructed in brick, although the family houses were covered with cement to get the same look as the concrete experiments. This different material and design changes due to severe savings dissolved the unifying elements of the two typologies.

The technical focus of the design is remarkable in the pivoting windows, intercom for the main door, automatically dimming lights and waste disposal chutes. This has made it a very prescient design.

Reception

Jan Wils design for the ‘Daal en Berg’ complex wasn’t left unnoticed. Already before the finishing of the project, in 1920 it was exhibited in the Royal School of Art, Technology and Craft in 's-Hertogenbosch. And although almost financially ruining Jan Wils’ design office, the Papaverhof quickly was internationally known. The German journal Wasmuths Monatshefte für Baukunst wrote in 1921 that this very expressive plans of grouped houses were very detailed and innovative. “The houses don’t have facades anymore, but each building part is expressed in detail en brought into relation with the surroundings trough proportion and dimensions in contrast and harmonious in the same time.”

The design may contain references to other contemporaneous architects. Oud’s design for a strand boulevard in Scheveningen (1917) has many similarities. It is remarkable that the explanations they have for their design are both related to ‘planes and masses with rhythmic ordering’. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Lexington Terraces (1894) are often linked with this design, as this housing complex with light wells is also configured around a rectangular courtyard. But the closed façade makes the spatial feeling rather massive than planar of fragmented.

This complex can be an example for color use and architecture of De Stijl, but its brick surroundings could fit better in the descriptions of The Hague School. The New Hague School is a style from the interwar period, that distinguishes itself through the sleek design of the Modern Movement and luxurious implementation.

Jan Wils can be situated in between several architectural currents in the Netherlands, and that might be the reason for being not that famous right now. The architecture of Jan Wils started with a romantic rustic style and evolves towards a monumental composition style. He was part of ‘De Stijl’ from 1917 until the beginning of 1919, but as a ‘building artist’ he went his own way with a more monumental architecture, still using traditional materials like bricks.

Restorations

In 1971 a severe renovation took place, but fifteen years later many water infiltration problems appeared. On the initiative of the still existing Cooperative Residential Construction Association Garden City Neighborhood ‘Daal en Berg’ , the restoration firm Franso and Partners Architects studied extensively the building history. The 1958/1960 renovation eaves that many critics pointed out as being an example of Frank Lloyd Wright style, appeared to be far from the original plan and were removed. External isolation was applied with respect for the proportions. The colors of the inner circle were restored in a vivid blue and yellow, but the outer circle kept its later over painted white and black tones out of an esthetic view. The contractors Boele & van Eesteren realized the plans and in October 1989 the definitive acceptance took place. This renovation was largely covered in the journal press in the Netherlands, and received a nomination for the National Renovation Price and the National Painting Price in 1991.