Foto: Dudok Architectuur Centrum

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Apartment building Larenseweg 157
1975-1977 / Zanstra, De Clercq Zubli, Lammertsma & Partners Architekten BV

A gallery flat was built in 1977 on the former Ensink site, located on the corner of Larenseweg/Jan van der Heijdenstraat, in a style characteristic of the construction period. The client was construction company Slokker Bouwmaatschappij, which also carried out the work. The apartment building was then sold to the Stichting Pensioenfonds voor de Vervoer- en Havenbedrijven, which operated the houses.

Ensinkterrein

The lack of possibilities for expansion of the municipality of Hilversum meant that densification became a theme as early as the 1970s. Pieces of land released within the municipality were often designated for housing. For a long time, the iron and metal foundry Ensink was located on the corner of Larenseweg and Jan van der Heijdenstraat. At the end of the nineteenth century, this site was one of the first factory sites on what was then still called Laarderweg. When the company merged in the early 1970s and left Hilversum, the site was used for housing.

Design

The (stepped) L-shaped block of flats has a short side facing Jan van der Heijdenstraat and a longer side facing Larenseweg. A staircase and elevator shaft connect the two building parts. The galleries are at the back. The building consists of four floors on a substructure, with a spacious low extension aimed at what is now the Larenseweg/Jan van der Heijdenstraat roundabout. This extension was intended for shops. In total, the building contains 40 homes, 4 of which are on the ground floor.

The houses have a simple elongated floor plan consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, a living area with open kitchen and a balcony on the street side. A special detail are rounded corners on the balconies, which are fitted with gravel concrete slabs as parapets.

Single and double households

The urban planning department was asked to designate the houses for foreign workers, but in the end the apartments were intended for one and two-person households. According to the urban planning department, foreign workers were not eligible because of the size of the families. Singles ‘from this category of tenants’ were not eligible because of the high rents.

Zanstra, De Clercq Zubli, Lammertsma & Partners Architekten BV

The architectural firm Zanstra, De Clercq Zubli, Lammertsma & Partners operated between 1974 and 1977 as the successor to the firm Zanstra, Gmelig Meyling and De Clercq Zubli N.V. and is now continued as ZZDP architects. The founder of the office was Piet Zanstra (1905-2003), who in 1925 still worked for some time as Dudok’s assistant. The office often collaborated with project developer Johan Matser, who mainly carried out major development projects in Hilversum after the war (including the Hilvertshof). According to the construction drawings, the architect of the Larenseweg 157 project was H.K. from Moort.