Betondorp: modernism in an Unwiseque framework

The central Brink square is surrounded by housing constructed in concrete. Here a look back towards the central garden square. The greater building height (an extra storey) creates the impression of "towers" on the corners making for a gate-like effect.

The same device is employed on the corners on the edge of the garden village. Here two three storey houses frame the central view of one of the axial ensembles.

By playing with the building line a sense of spatial uniqueness is achieved. This is a clear example of an Unwinesque design device. Here used in one of the small closes in this garden village. By using a different colour on the upper storey the corners are emphasised.

In a more subtle way colour and plasticity is used on the corners of rows of terraced housing (shown left). The chimney is part of the overall composition of the block. The shape and colour are picked up by the corner style. A slight recess above and below creates a thin strip of shade that emphasises the structural element  as ornamental. The doors are used as ornament everywhere in Tuindorp Watergraafsmeer, but especially so in the Betondorp-section. Here some lovely original doors in a graphic cubist design that was popular at the time.

In some places, especially as part of axial ensembles, one of the blocks is set back to make space for a small lawn to create an Unwinesque green.

Unwinesque urban design also features gates and exaggerated corners. On the left an good example of a gate within a row of terraced housing with columns and a block capital. Not all housing is plain off-white or grey, some has subtle colour. Here the grey upper storey has elongated corners that replicate the columns but inverted.

Another example of Unwinesque design, here with typical treatment of the corners to create an interior street space. For this the corner buildings have a building line closer to the street, so the street space widens beyond. Also note the subtle detailing emphasising the corners.

The corners often have slight embellishments that are part of the outer skin of the building. On the left a dynamic abstract composition reminiscent of the neo-plasticist Theo van Doesburg. In a similar way banding is translated into a modernist idiom (seen on the right).

Plasticity and subtle decorative elements create a varied streetscape as intended in Unwinesque design. On the left the corner building is set back with a chimney marking the stepped building line. The banding goes around the corner. The block behind has a protruding central section. The building opposite has a slightly protruding upper storey.  

The use of colour is mostly muted in this garden village, unlike the projects by Bruno Taut. Here gray tones emphasise the horizontality of the block. Such ribbons of windows are a feature of many Dutch buildings of the 1920s. The black plinth and roof trim are inspired by Scandinavian examples and the work of Dudok. The brightly coloured doors provide a splash of colour. Only primary colours are used for the doors plus green. This colour scheme of white gray black and primary colours is in keeping with The Style, an art movement of the time.

Some of the architecture is more decorative with great plasticity of shape. This makes for sculptural blocks with banded "towers" on the corners, protruding chimneys emphasising the shift in building line. The protruding sections used to house a corner shop, hence the shop windows that go around the corner. A separate set of stairs lead up to the apartment above the shop. Now it is a single dwelling.

Where the buildings take on a Bauhaus-type modernist style (on the right) horizontality dominates the facade. Only the bright red doors punctuate the lines and provide a rhythm. The clusters of 4 doors -again- indicates a duplex with apartments. On the left the main entrance in the southwest near where the church now stands. Here two protruding portals nestle in the corner of the protruding section of the block that is further emphasised by the banding on the upper storey and the sculpture of an eagle.

The two schools are built in brick and sit between the rendered concrete buildings of Betondorp. The contrast is very marked, but the building designed in brick cubism has a similar plasticity. So the two styles are married well on the square.

Where the brick built section of Tuindorp Watergraafsmeer meets the concrete built Betondorp the contrast is remarkable. Although similar Unwinesque design devices are employed the architecture is so different that the feel of the place is very different. The brick-built section conforms to what is usually associated with garden village design in the Netherlands.

A gate at the beginning of a street gives access to the rest of the garden village beyond. This is the typical architecture of garden villages and garden suburbs of the 1920s and 1930s in the Netherlands.