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View title 31 Gallery
“Nature knows no closed doors”
Standing in the vestibule, first a human being to enter with quick steps, longing for the security of a house.
But I stood still. And shine only seconds later which held me back.
The click of the door. Shutting down and shutting off my world from the rest.
Wasn’t that the basis of human civilization that makes us so proud, cultivating our species, nesting and settling.
Establishment and port ?
Wasn’t public the inseparable and distinctive part of cultivating in the beginning? ‘‘Open and together.. Open.. Yes! †
We want an open house, open where light dances playfully in from all sides, where boundaries are set to seek each other out and not turn away.
Where each room has its own outside, where the trees and plants bend to the southern sun and a roof where the sky falls.
“We will build, build to a foundation of open, sustainable, warm and a future. †
“The Emir’s house had no door, all were welcome.
Nobody got the chance standing in front of it to change their mind because they still had to knock,
You are welcome and enter …”
Most houses in Oud-Duinoord were built at the end of the 19th century. At that time, Neo-Renaissance architecture was very much in vogue, sometimes mixed with Romanesque and Gothic elements. Characteristic are the rich decorations, turrets and bay windows, and the use of natural stone. Faces are often carved into ceilings and consoles, including animal heads. Most elements have been brought up from the Renaissance period. Examples abound on Sweelinckplein.
After the turn of the century, the Neo-Renaissance gradually became
supplanted by an entirely new style, which originally came from Austria and Belgium: the Art Nouveau or Jugendstil, here also derisively referred to as the curly or vermicelli style. Tradition was broken and they no longer wanted to use elements from early architectural styles.
In The Hague, the only Dutch city where Art Nouveau has been applied on a large scale, this transition was very timid; only Art Nouveau is therefore hardly to be found in Duinoord.
Many buildings show a mixture of this style with some Neo-Renaissance elements. The Jugendstil is characterized by curved and broken lines, empty balustrades, steel constructions and colored brick. Natural stone is rarely used. Particular attention should be paid to window layout, wrought iron balcon balustrades, and stained glass.
In Oud-Duinoord you will find Art-Nouveau in the last part of 2e Schuytstraat and Obrechtstraat, while Nieuw-Duinoord, which was demolished for more than half during the war, was almost entirely built in Art-Nouveau.
A large part of the Duinoord district has been appointed
to a nationally protected cityscape, including the Nicolaïstraat.
1. From the rich history of The Hague to see the statue of Eline Vere in the eponymous park
2. Sunny Court, the huge city (play) garden hidden between buildings
3. Cafe Madeleine, a cozy ”French” cafe for a delicious breakfast and lunch
4. The cozy Reinkenstraat with various shops, catering and specialty stores
5. Restaurant Da Braccini, which is the best Italian restaurant in the Netherlands!
In 1891 the Hague banker Dr. D. P. Scheurleer submitted a plan to the municipality, which was adopted in 1892 in an amended form by the ”N.V. The Hague Building Land Company Duinoord”.
This company had made large land purchases southwest of the Zeeheldenkwartier for this purpose. The residential area to be built on these sandy soils was mainly intended for the wealthy.
The original plan was drawn up by the director of the Public Works Department, I.A. Lindo, including changes in traffic technology, so that better connection options with existing (and new to be built) districts were realized.
The construction was completed between 1892 and about 1902. The southwestern boundary of the district was determined by the Afvoerkanaal and the route of the steam tram to Scheveningen.
This tram track ran on the Reinkenstraat – Carnegielaan route behind the houses of the Obrechtstraat.
The Society “Duinoord”, wishing to prevent speculative construction such as in the Zeeheldenkwartier, organized a competition in 1892 for facade designs, to which architects and builders could submit.
The result is various detailed facades.
The Nicolaistraat, named after the composer Willem Frederik Gerard Nicolai, runs from the first Sweelinckstraat to the Stadhouderslaan and was built in 1901.
Willem Nicolai was born in 1829. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and was also a good organist.
In 1865 he became director of the then “Royal Music School” and remained so until his death in 1896.
Willem Nicolai was editor of the music magazine “Caecilia”; he composed operas, choral works, songs and an oratorio (Bonifacius) Nicolai was an enthusiastic music school director. He loved the music of contemporaries Wagner and Liszt. He wrote easily digestible music, which can be compared to the compositions of Mendelssohn and Schumann.