Photo: Iwan Baan

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Printer and Publishing house C. de Boer N.V.
1958 / W.M. Dudok/ R.H.M. Magnee

Zeverijnstraat 6, Hilversum

The building for Drukkerij and Uitgervij C. de Boer jr. N.V. was completed in two phases. First, the section on Vreelandseweg was built with the typesetting, printing and canteen in a two-storey office strip. The garage and two service residences were housed in a separate volume on Zeverijnstraat.

The limited, but conveniently located site was submerged. There was a covered shed for the (moped) bicycles of the staff. In the second phase, an extension was realized in line with the first part, up to Zeverijnstraat. The building thus got two faces. The extension included a large hall for two web presses, as well as office space. The whole was executed in an airy steel construction and cheerful colors. Maximum light entry was a precondition for pleasant workspaces. The cheerful exterior is defined by bright red brick and white concrete. Shed roofs have been used on the north-east side, glass and colored surfaces in the light frame on the south-west facade.

In 1943 De Boer took over the N.V. Drukkerij De Mercuur (formerly Nonhebel). The company vignette showed a Mercury in a modest tank top. The gilded statue of the naked trading god was made in 1958 by sculptor D. Stins.

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