ARCHITECTUURGIDS.NL / ARCHITECTUREGUIDE.NL

HOUSING HARMONIEHOF

J.C. VAN EPEN, 1919-1923, Harmoniehof, Amsterdam

ARCHITECT(URAL OFFICE):
Jop van Epen

ASSISTING ARCHITECT:
Meindert Lippits

BUILDING TYPE:
Housing
Urban plans

This ensemble, an oasis in the bustling city, was designed for the Samenwerking housing corporation. The taller development stands along both sides of a garden courtyard whose head ends are terminated by villa-style houses. Renovation work deprived the complex of its typical ochre-coloured window and door frames, with the exception of the freestanding houses. Other such ensembles by Van Epen, who designed mainly housing, can be seen along Amstelveenseweg and Pieter Lastmankade. Van Epen combined a strong attention to the facade composition as a whole and the decorative brickwork of the Amsterdam School with houses whose internal layout is noticeably more functional.