Home / Architecture / Architecture Hilversum / 19th century /Hilversumse Schoolvereniging

Hilversumse Schoolvereniging
1910-1911 / P. Andriessen

Frans Halslaan 70

The school building of the Hilversum School Association on Frans Halslaan was built in 1910-1911, possibly after a design by the then municipal architect Piet Andriessen. The school was built in a transitional style characteristic of the construction period. The building is a municipal monument.

Hilversumse Schoolvereniging

In 1909 a number of parents in the Emmastraatkwartier founded the ‘Hilversumsche Schoolvereeniging’. According to the founders, the school had to become a school ‘in the spirit of the School Vrij in Amsterdam, of the Gooische Schoolvereeniging in Laren and of the similar schools in The Hague and Bloemendaal’. That meant small classes with both boys and girls, and a lot of attention for personal development. In addition to the subjects that prepared for gymnasium and HBS, music, crafts, manual and garden work and knowledge of nature were important parts of the curriculum.

Schoolbuilding

On what was then called Wernerlaan (now Frans Halslaan) the construction of its own school building took place in 1909-1910. The school was probably designed by municipal architect Piet Andriessen (1844-1914). The plot was somewhat set back between large gardens. The entrance to the school was along an access road. The students have their own gardens on the grounds around the school. In the building, the classrooms were situated along wide corridors, around a green courtyard. There was also a large craft room and a well-equipped gym. Later, a lawn was laid out for outdoor gymnastics.

Transition style

The school was built in the Transitional style, characteristic of the late nineteenth century, and incorporates both Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau elements. It is a low, rectangular brick building topped with a masonry balustrade. The entrance is generously designed in an arched portico and decorated at the top with masonry pilasters crowned with a conical roof. The porch floor is tiled in a diamond-shaped pattern. The symmetrical facade was enlivened with natural stone elements along doors and windows.

Large scale renovation

In the 1960s, the characteristic school gardens had been replaced by a playground for toddlers. The inner garden was closed off to provide storage space and a kitchenette. A major renovation took place in the early 1990s. The east facade was moved 2.5 meters out to create more spacious classrooms for the superstructure. In the middle of the building was a large space with a loft and a balcony. Architektenburo Ir. Pal Stipovits b.v. from Rijswijk, who had designed the Violenschool in Hilversum in 1981, among other things.

Expansion

In 1999-2000, the school building was expanded with a two-storey extension on the southwest side of the building. The design was by Architektenburo Hartman en Eylers bv from Hilversum. The extension was plastered in light color. Additional classrooms were added to accommodate the growth of students.