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Annefloor Schlotter

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Cygnus Gymnasium

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Date

31 May

Meeting time

10h45

Start tour

11h00

End tour

12h30

Vanessa will guide you to the Trippenhuis, which is a 30-minute walk away, and public transport is also available.

What to bring

Water bottle

Umbrella or sunscreen

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Meeting point

Cygnus Gymnasium, Vrolikstraat 8 Amsterdam, main entrance

Late, lost or sick?

Call Vanessa +31 6 13606334 or Whatsapp +65 9758 0946

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The Craft School. Photo by Raoul Suermondt 2013

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The Dutch version of Le Corbusiers Unité d’Habitation

The Craft School by architect J. B. Ingwersen

Together, we will look at the current condition of the renovation carried out in 2013. Ten years ago, the original colour scheme on wooden parts was restored, and paint was removed from all originally unpainted architectural concrete elements of the building (including some reliefs) with a paint stripper, ice rays, or imitation painting.

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The wooden sliding doors at the facade. The windows were originally painted blue, yellow, or red on the outside, and white on the inside. The steel window frames had a gray colour. Photo by Raoul Suermondt 2013 

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The natural colours of the clean concrete and American pine wood frames were restored as much as possible. Photo by Raoul Suermondt 2013

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The stairwell with concrete relief artwork. Photo by Raoul Suermondt 2013

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Brief timeline:

1948-1952: Designed by Johannes Bernard (J.B.) Ingwersen and C. de Geus for the client, Stichting Patrimonium’s Nijverheidsscholen Amsterdam.

1952-1956: Building construction and completion as the First Christian Technical School Patromonium, also known as The Craft School or The Ship.

1998: Building renovation.

2008: AFR by Annefloor Schlotter (Student at Sticthing Restauratie Atelier Limburg, SRAL).

2009: Designated as Rijksmonument, National Monument

2013: Building renovation and adaptation to the Cygnus Gymnasium School (current tenant).

Project team information:

AFR researcher: Annefloor Schlotter (student at SRAL)

Restorer: Annefloor Schlotter (independent)

Supervisor Rijksdienst Archeologie, Cultuurlandschappen en Monumenten (RACM, presently RCE): Mariël Polman

Architect and commissioner of AFR: WDJArchitecten

Project manager: Rienks Adviseurs B.V.

The first Christian Technical School Patrimonium, also called the Craft School, was built in the fifties and designed by the architect J.B. Ingwersen. Characteristic elements such as 'architectural quotes' by Le Corbusier and the symbiosis of art and architecture make this building a typical example of the Dutch progressive Reconstruction Period after the Second World War.

In 2008, the AFR project was carried out as part of the requirement for a building earmarked to be a national monument, which was going to be renovated for adaptation into Cygnus Gymnasium School. The building originally consisted of a lot of clean concrete and glass, but colour elements played a very subtle yet expressive role. The research was carried out per floor and building elements – steel hinged windows, wooden sliding windows, doors, door frames, walls, ceilings, pipelines and radiators, steel fencing and railings, cupboards, and concrete artworks. The research yielded results that break the common misconception of achromatic post-war architecture. Many colours in the building represent the vision of Ingwersen, who selected each colour depending on the room’s functions.

It is found that on the façade, the grey concrete grid and grey-painted steel windows are refined with colour accents of yellow, red, and blue on the wooden sliding windows. In the interior, the doors were painted in various hues ranging from purple to red with brown and greys. The interior walls are also made of different materials, such as concrete, brick, and millstone. Walls finished in plaster were painted in various hues. The artworks by H. op de Laak are intricately connected with the architecture. The artworks’ reliefs were cast into the concrete during the shell construction. The unity of the structure and colours created this exceptional modern architecture by Ingwersen.

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The projecting canopy over the entrance. Photo by Raoul Suermondt 2013

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For more information on the 2008 AFR by Annefloor Schlotter, refer to pages 20-21: https://www.cultureelerfgoed.nl/binaries/cultureelerfgoed/documenten/publicaties/2015/01/01/tijdschrift-van-de-rijksdienst-voor-het-cultureel-erfgoed-januari-2015/tijdschrift-van-de-rijksdienst-voor-het-cultureel-erfgoed-2015-1.pdf

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C. de Geus / J.B. Ingwersen: LTS Patrimonium (today: Cygnus Gymnasium), 1952 C -1956

Amsterdam, Netherlands, Show on map

#EDU #UnitéType #Western Europe

This school building, nicknamed "The Ship", was designed and built as a school for Lower Technical Studies: mechanics, blacksmith, electrician, plumbing etc. It is obviously built after Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. On the roof there is the gymnastics hall. Later on a planetarium was added. Until today, it has always served its purpose as a school.

In the mid 00's the building was vacant and threatened with demolishion. It was saved because of gentrification of the area and recognition as an early brutalist building. In 2009 the building gained official heritage status. Between 2010-2012 it underwent a total renovation. The old interior and exterior were saved and brought back to their original state: e.g. the wooden garage-door and the relief-artwork (artist: Harry Op de Laak) in the staircases and the hallways. Paint has been removed to bring back the original materials: raw concrete, steel, wood. The renovation won two important prizes: the Geurt Brinkgeve Bokaal and the NRP Gulden Fenix. (Special thanks to Aileen Esther Middel)

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LTS Patrimonium (today: Cygnus Gymnasium)

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This school building, nicknamed "The Ship", was designed and built as a school for Lower Technical Studies: mechanics, blacksmith, electrician, plumbing etc. It is obviously built after Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. On the roof there is the gymnastics hall. Later on a planetarium was added.