|
 Joy
in Sumatrastraat
September 2010 – Finally, the hour has come! The Council issued the demolition
order and the girder construction in Sumatrastraat, an eyesore and source of sorrow
for so many years, has been dismantled. Sorrows
of Sumatrastraat finally over P
R E S S R E L E A S E October
2009 Renovation of the inner courtyard
at Sumatrastraat 243 - 271 will be carried out shortly, which among other things
will involve repaving. More importantly,
it will also include the demolition of the steel skeleton currently erected on
the site in order to optimize access and maintenance work. This
means that the building plans of architect Bulhorst will definitely
not be realized. Current
owner of the site, Vellinga Vastgoed BV, has always had a problem with the design
and shares the objections officially submitted by those living in the neighbourhood.
As part of Vellinga Vastgoed’s
social investment activities through a special foundation set up by the company
to financially support development projects in Kenya, the proceeds from the sale
of the demolished steel girders will go the Mwangulu Primary School in Lunga Lunga
near Mombasa, “adopted” in 2002. The
Hague, 1 October 2009 Vellinga
Vastgoed BV
Sorrows
of Sumatrastraat Lawsuit
On Tuesday 3 February 2009 the lawsuit 'Het Verdriet van de Sumatrastraat' brought
by local residents is due to be heard at the Hall of Justiice at Prins Clauslaan
60.
 Fighting
a skeleton
It
was supposed to have been an apartment building, but the project came to a standstill
due to repeated setbacks. According to local residents, if the council had just
listened to those in the neighbourhood it would never have got this far. “You
can indeed call it the sorrows of Sumatrastraat,’’ says Maarten Rouppe
van der Voort, who lives next door to the doomed site. “For eight years
nothing happened and then a palisade-like construction was erected that did not
conform to the planning permission granted by the municipal council. Since then
it has just been standing there.”
Saga
of the "Sorrows of Sumatrastraat " On
2 June 2006, the so-called "highest point" of the construction of the
structural framework of the small glass and steel apartment complex at the end
of Sumatrastraat, close to the corner with Koninginnegracht, was reached and summarily
marked with the hoisting of the flag. It’s
now February 2007 and there has been little progress. The girder structure remains
unchanged and there is no sign of any building work.
Those who pop along
to take a look will see that the structure is totally out of keeping with rest
of the street. No wonder that it has become a “site worth seeing’
in our neighbourhood. There has been
bitter opposition from the street residents right from the moment the plans were
submitted because the design is totally out of character with the rest of the
Archipelbuurt. And the fact that the architect Rainer Bullhorst managed to get
this far, in spite of all the protests, still remains a mystery.  The
point is that the girder skeleton appears to be 60 cm higher that indicated in
the original drawings (see arrow on photo on left). This means that the structure
projects above the adjacent property by 210 cm instead of 1.50 cm (photo Frank
van Rossum).
In the autumn of 1999
a number of local residents, represented by Mr. Maarten Rouppe van der Voort,
explained their objections to the proposed building plans during a public council
meeting chaired by councillor H.J. Meijer. Unfortunately, the heated discussions
which followed were to no avail. The existing original 19th-century property was
demolished and the council granted planning permission to Mr. De Zoete, the developer,
and R. Bullhorst, the architect. For all those present at the meeting, including
the chairman, the whole building inspectorate, council members and members of
the public, it was the architectural drawings and the model produced by the architect
which formed the starting point on which the ensuing debate and subsequent decisions
were based. 
Above left, the street elevation of the
new property to be built at 243 Sumatrastraat which clearly indicates that the
beam that will partly support the roof (and projects out on the left) is level
with the ridge board of the adjacent building. Above right, a drawing in which
the envisaged height is the same as that of the house adjacent at 241/239 Sumatrastraat
(Drawing: Bullhorst Architecten & Stedebouwers).
In November 2006 the chairman of the
traffic, inner city and monuments executive, Mr. M. Norder, visited Sumatrastraat
to take stock of the situation. He too found that the new building was completely
out of character. At the end of January
2007 it was shown that the structural skeleton had not been built according to
the original drawings or model. Measurements
were taken and the new construction is indeed 60 cm higher than was indicated
in the architectural drawings presented at the meeting in 1999. It is clear from
the original plans that the beam which will partly support the roof is level with
the ridge board of the adjacent building.The top and front of the new building
must align with the roof gutter of the adjoining house and this is not the case.
The skeleton currently projects 210 cm above the house next door whereas in the
plans and model this should only be 1.50 cm.
The result is that the whole
building is even more colossal than was ever originally imagined. On
4 February 2007 a letter entitled "Het verdriet van de Sumatrastraat"
was sent to chairman Norder pointing out that all interested parties in 1999 have
been misled by Mr. De Zoete and Mr. Bullhorst.
Signatories of the letter,
Maarten en Joke Rouppe van der Voort and Frank and Ellen van Rossum from Sumatrastraat,
with the support of other residents, are carefully considering further action. 
The
model (left) produced by Bullhorst Architects also clearly shows that the beam
which will partly support the roof (and projects out on the left) is level with
the ridge board of the adjacent building. Please
send reactions to M.A.A.
Rouppe van der Voort: rouppe@freeler.nl
Building
in Sumatrastraat underway - the flag's flying! After
much resistance, the construction of the small apartment complex at the end of
Sumatrastraat, close to the corner with Koninginnegracht, has begun. Everything
has gone so smoothly so far the "highest point" had already been reached
on 2 June 2006 and was summarily marked with the hoisting of the flag.   However
for many local residents it was "Black Friday". Those living in Sumatrastraat
have managed to block the work for four years because they objected to a building
of glass and steel in a neighbourhood with such an indivdual character.
However
for many local residents it was "Black Friday". Those living in Sumatrastraat
have managed to block the work for four years because they objected to a building
of glass and steel in a neighbourhood with such an indivdual character.
During the Whitsun weekend disgruntled
Archipel residents came to watch; some with their whole families from outside
the city. They gathered in groups, voicing their objections and disappointment:
"this can't be possible", "That this has been allowed ...",
"It can't de done like this!", "Surely, it's not allowed?"
Initially
they thought it was just scaffolding in front of the building but soon realized
that it was the structure of the building itself. The building projects above
everything else and will remind the neighbourhood for years, how this sort of
thing "should not be done". The saddest thing about the whole business
is that the owner was prepared to consider an alternative design but the architects
did everything in their power to push through their design and in the end got
their way. | 
Fortunately
a new premises will be constructed above an underground car park in which the
interior elements of the original pool will be adapted to preserve the atmosphere
of a by-gone age. 
According
to Hans van Os, who bought the old premises in 1997, the swimming pool is also
intended for the use of local residents; certainly not only for hotel guests.
The design of architect Thijs Jan Drenth incorporates architectural style elements
from the surrounding neighbourhood and the illustrations give an impression of
what the new complex and pool will look like.