The Weerbare Man is a new development that harmoniously blends into the characteristic streetscape of the Pijp. In the tradition of the nineteenth century, architect and artist collaborated.
De Weerbare Man is part of the project De Hollandse Meesters. This project consists of four new construction projects and a renovation project. The name De Hollandse Meesters was chosen because the street names in the Pijp bear the names of famous seventeenth-century Dutch painters. Thus, De Weerbare Man owes its name to a famous painting by painter Govert Flinck.
The project, located on Govert Flinckstraat, consists of nine residential units. Notable features of the new build include the sleek white steel frames, the high plinth with basement units, the floor-to-ceiling windows with French balconies and integrated flower pots, and the windows in the eaves under the dormer windows. Particularly noteworthy are the doors designed and made by the artist Piet Hein Eek. Special to the floor plans is the use of a fixed core with sanitary and technical facilities and a free bay with flexible layout options.
It cannot be without meaning that one architectural duo appears twice in the top ten for the New Construction Prize. Peter Geusebroek and Svetla Stefanova, the architects of De Monnik (see last week’s Friday newspaper), are also responsible for the Dutch Masters, six projects close together in De Pijp that were carried out on behalf of the housing corporation De Alliantie.
“We were asked to do this precisely because of our experience with inner-city projects,” says Svetla Stefanova (37), who joined her colleague Geusebroek seven years ago. “We were already working on De Monnik back then.”
It’s no wonder they appear in this series. “We have a clear penchant for building in the existing environment,” explains Stefanova. And it’s not necessarily new construction they’re interested in. Of the six projects in De Pijp, the architects chose renovation in one case (at Eerste Van der Helststraat).
The first of those six projects is now competing for the New Building Prize: The Weerbare Man, a block of nine apartments on Govert Flinckstraat. The Weerbare Man is the title of a painting by Flinck, hence the name.
Working in the middle of a residential neighborhood did bring its own set of problems. For example, the district of Oud Zuid suddenly determined that the rear facade could not extend beyond the former building. Stefanova: “We had to adjust our entire plan.”
“But anyway, getting something off the back wall is solvable. Just like with De Monnik, the street side was the biggest challenge for us,” describes Stefanova. “That’s very important in this kind of environment.”
“We took a very close look at the characteristic facades in the Pijp. Our strength is: the houses are modern, but they also effortlessly fit into the nineteenth-century surroundings, in the perspective of the street. And they are richly detailed.”
The jury that selected the top ten was completely in agreement with that. “It fits very well with the
streetscape,” Angela Desmet concluded. Pablo Herrera praises the way the details have been finished.
“And the houses have beautiful doors,” all the jury members note.
The doors are indeed the eye-catchers of these homes. They were designed by Piet Hein Eek, who chose a whole series of numbers that immediately stand out from the house number itself. The residents themselves also emphasized the doors when they submitted their report.
Simone Vlaar (34) is one of those satisfied residents (average rating: 9.7). “After living in Madrid for two years, I went from a temporary home in Alkmaar in search of something in Amsterdam. Preferably in De Pijp, because in the Jordaan or on the canals it wasn’t affordable.”
Three years ago she came across the offer of this house: 75 square meters for 260,000 euros.
There is no garage, but there is a bicycle storage room and – as the most important advantage – a sixty-square-meter garden.
“That wasn’t even that expensive for Amsterdam,” says Vlaar. “My apartment is big enough for me, and because you can change the layout of the rooms, you don’t have to move often.”
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