Photo: Dudok Architectuur Centrum

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Gooiland, Grand Hotel en Schouwburg
1936 / J. Duiker

Emmastraat 2, Hilversum

In the 1930s, the Grand Hotel Gooiland was built in the center of Hilversum with a hall, cafe, bar, billiard room, foyer and restaurant, oriented on Emmastraat. A shop with an upstairs apartment was located on the east side.

The entrance to the Grand Theater Gooiland was on a narrow side street, the Luitgardeweg. The foyer formed the connecting element between the two main parts. The building site had an L-shape and the design had to be fitted in between existing buildings. Duiker was commissioned in 1934; he died when the draft design was ready. The elaboration of the sketch design was carried out by P.J. Elling and G.W. Tuynman under the supervision of B. Bijvoet, who came every two weeks from Paris to supervise the project.

It was not possible to acquire more land, so the solution was to design a corner in the east facade. It turned out that an error had been made during the last measurements. All design drawings had to be submitted quickly because the contractor was already ready to start. These and all other 600 working drawings were made at high speed by G.W. Tuynman, who lived almost constantly in the workplace for a year. Bijvoet designed the finish of the interior, which created an interesting field of tension between the businesslike play of light and air in Duiker’s design and the warmer interior design, especially of the Schouwburg. The distinctive U-shape gives the hotel a Mediterranean look. This is further enhanced by the location of the hotel rooms in relation to the terrace with pond, which is not located on the ground floor but on the mezzanine floor.

The ceiling steel heating system was designed by J. Duiker and J.J. de Ridder designed and patented. Heated air circulated between the floor structure and the ceiling below. The exterior was tiled and the columns plastered. Only glass was installed in the steel frames. The Gooiland complex is the first building in the Netherlands to have an all-steel skeleton. By using this supporting structure, Duiker was able to spatially connect the various parts of the building, including voids and insert floors. The complex was expanded and renovated several times. The complex enjoys international fame as a monument of the New Building. In 1975, 1988 and 1998 – sometimes far-reaching – restoration work was carried out.

Source: Annette Koenders, Hilversum. Architectuur en Stedenbouw 1850-1940, Zwolle (2001).