Uncertain future for Eikenrode

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The fate of the Eikenrode estate in Loosdrecht has turned from bright to dim in a matter of only two months. Last April I could report that Eikenrode was one of seven estates to receive a restoration grant from the big Dutch VSBfonds. This grant was preceded by another grant five months earlier: in December 2006 RACM decided to fund the restoration of the coach house/orangerie with an amount of € 293,575.00. 1In that same month, owner Martien Plasmeijer received the largely symbolic title of Ambachtsheer van Mijnden en de beide Loosdrechten from his predecessor.

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Coach house at Eikenrode after the fire

On December 15th, 2007 (almost to the day one year after the RACM grant was awarded), while all necessary paperwork for the upgrade of the structure to several apartments was ready, said coach house/orangerie caught fire and was severely damaged. According to a local source the fire was probably started intentionally, because the empty building was cut off from any gas or electricity lines. 2Stichting Historisch Goed Loosdrecht, entry of 16-12-2007.

Luckily for the owners of Eikenrode, RACM came with a quick assessment that, although many original features were lost, the remains of the building were still considered to be a monument, which meant the building activities could go ahead.

But the next blow came by the end of January 2008. Not in the form of flames this time, but in the form of nervous banks announcing the public sale of Eikenrode on March 4th, 2008. What happened? Since 1974 Eikenrode had been owned by the local counsil, in whose hands the estate deteriorated. Plasmeijer started his reconstructive work on the estate in the year 2000, with silent support from the local counsil -who still owned the grounds surrounding the house. Both parties decided in April 2007 to formaly transfer the complete estate to Plasmeijer, the new ‘lord of the manor’ with two restoration grants in his pocket to back his plans up. This transfer process took a while and has yet to be finalised, reason for the participating banks to withdraw their support and announce the public auction. 3These are tough times for banks, who have most probably taken the recent fire into account as well.

The bank’s action has been condemned and deemed ‘premature’ by both the local counsil and Plasmeijer. According to them, all parties are working hard to complete the transfer before March 4th. To be continued, I’m sure.

Edit @ February 25th 2008: I found a short ‘movie’ of the fire on YouTube, with some comments from a local at the end. The comment is in Dutch, ofcourse.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 In that same month, owner Martien Plasmeijer received the largely symbolic title of Ambachtsheer van Mijnden en de beide Loosdrechten from his predecessor.
↑2 Stichting Historisch Goed Loosdrecht, entry of 16-12-2007.
↑3 These are tough times for banks, who have most probably taken the recent fire into account as well.

From WIC to West 8: Dutch developments on Governors Island

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Dutch developers return on New York’s shores for the first time since 1674, as a team lead by architects from Rotterdam based West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture win the competition for the redevelopment of Governors Island. The results of the competition were made public by New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York State governor Eliot Spitzer as representatives of the islands owners: ‘the people of New York’. The plan to develop the island that boasts Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as its neighbours, came from the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, who control the island since it was left by the Coast Guard in 1995. The $400 million plan should be completed in 2012. West 8 is represented by architects Adriaan Geuze and Jerry van Eyck. They will be appointed to develop a master-plan and a detailed design.

governors-island-plan.jpg The winning bid was made in cooperation with New York based architects Rogers Marvel Architects and Diller Scofidio & Renfro (according to The New York Times in association with Quennell Rothschild & Partners and SMWM). It includes a 2 mile long promenade along the western waterfront, a new park including some artificial hills on the southern flat part of the island and an ‘improved’ park in the island’s northern historic district. The plan leaves room for future building activity in two development zones, where facilities for visitors may be built. 1Source for the plan: Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation through the New York Times article. The jury stated in that respect that the winning design “was really the scheme that best addressed the issues of phasing.”

Governors Island was known to the native Indians as Pagganck (Nut Island) after the island’s plentiful hickory, oak and chestnut trees. The Dutch aptly named it ‘Noten Eylant’ from 1611 onwards while the island remained to be used by the native Indians. In 1637 the fifth director of Nieuw Nederland Wouter van Twiller bought the island from the Manahata Indians (other sources speak of “two Lenape, Cacapeteyno and Pewihas”) for two ax heads, a string of beads and a handful of nails. Van Twiller bought the island for private use, but one year later the Dutch West Indian Corporation (WIC) confiscated the island.

The English first took over the island in 1664, and after ten years they secured it’s possession for the next 100 years, “for the benefit and accommodation of His Majesty’s Governors”. American troops confiscated the island and officially named it Governors Island. Shortly after that the Americans built two fortifications: Fort Jay and Castle Williams. governors_island.jpg The island became a self providing community for the local army and facilities. In 1912 the island was enlarged extensively by the deposit of rocky material which was the result of excavations for the Lexington Avenue Subway.

A garden party (liberation day?) at Governors Island. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

From 1966 onwards the American Coast Guard took over the island from the army until they left in 1995. Four years ago, on 31 January 2004, the island was transferred to the people of New York, stipulating amongst others that building houses and casino’s was prohibited. Surprisingly they did not ask for the planting of trees that bear nuts, but the architects may be smart enough to think of that themselves…

Further reading, more reading, pictures of Governors Island and more pictures from the winning bid.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Source for the plan: Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation through the New York Times article.

Go, and build villa’s in a Belgian landscape park

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… was my first, slightly cynical reaction on reports across the web that speak of an endangered landscape park in Belgium. But it may turn out quite OK in the end, maybe.

The endangered park is surrounding the so-called Kasteel van Walle, near Kortrijk. The danger comes in the form of a property developer called Samainvest, who wants to divide the garden in six parts to build villa’s on. The very idea reminded me of destructive plans from for instance the 1950’s for the ‘restructuring’ of former gardens. One such plan was made for Beeckestijn when it was at its lowest, but that did not become a reality. But there are many others that have been executed (the plans, I mean), resulting in anomalies like the beautiful Chinese pavilion the French architect Jean-Marie Morel built in l’Isle-Adam (just north of Paris), which now stands alone on te edge of a huge lake and…villa-park.morel-chinese-pavilion-lisle-adam.jpg

The Chinese pavilion by Jean-Marie Morel in l’Isle-Adam. Photo by yxelle [via].

A touch of reading into the matter made me more mellow about the whole idea, though. Continue reading

Land en Bosch acquired by Natuurmonumenten

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Natuurmonumenten has added a new estate to the cluster of estates they already own in ‘s Graveland. In the beginning of December Land en Bosch was acquired. After extensive cleaning operations and preparations, this estate will be added to the public rambling path that Natuurmonumenten already has in the area. Natuurmonumenten has its headquarters in the nearby estate of Schaep en Burg.

Land en Bosch used to be a conference centre for over 50 years, until it closed in 2003. According to an early source the sellers (De Christengemeenschap -Foundation Christian Community, who used Land en Bosch for prayers up till September 2007) wanted the estate to be used as a ‘zorghotel’ -a caring center for the chronically ill. The author believes the new owner may have agreed with this use, but Natuurmonumenten itself does not mention anything about the future use of Land en Bosch. The same source mentions an acquisition price of € 5,000,000 against an asking price of € 5,500,000.

The 3,5 hectare park boasts -by the looks of it- its fair share of mature beeches, as well as an 18th Century cabinet, or theekoepel, which was restored in 1958 by the local council. A photo of that theekoepel can be found here. land-en-bosch-ferry-siemensma.jpg

Land en Bosch, photo: Ferry Siemensma.

First steps…

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Earlier this month, the first step in the transfer of Beeckestijn to its new owners was finally completed by the transfer of ownership from the Velsen council to the department of DLG. 1See for more information on the transfer and the organisations involved here, here and here. It has taken all parties involved almost 6 months to agree on the terms and conditions under which the transfer takes place. It is now up to DLG and the designated owners (Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser and one private financier) to finalise the full transfer and present the new plans.In early July the new owners stated they would have the plans for Beeckestijn‘s future ready and present them at a first exhibition in December 2007. The fact that now only the first step in the process has been finalised is evidence that these talks are more difficult than originally expected.If one looks at the constellation of the new ownership, it is hardly surprising these talks have taken so long. Every party involved at the receiving end of the deal has their own ideas and preferences for the future of the estate. And because the estate is not sold but traded for development areas elsewhere in Velsen, the parties that are giving Beeckestijn away also have a say in its future. The parameters set by the ‘giving’ parties are:

  • the estate should remain open to the public (Velsen council).
  • the new owners must be able to maintain the estate in a sustainable way for a considerable time (the Province of Noord Holland).
  • [there used to be a demand to maintain the unity between house and park, expressed by the Velsen council earlier in the process, but I do not see this anymore]

On the receiving end, the parties involved have already shown they are capable of working together, but their preferences are difficult to combine. They need to find a balance between the ecological relationships between the garden and surrounding area one the one hand, and the simultaneous creation of a museum of gardening on the other, all within the parameters the giving parties have set.No one’s saying this will be easy, but the first step has been made.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 See for more information on the transfer and the organisations involved here, here and here.

Building projects at Chiswick House approved

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The Garden History Society informs its members they have approved the proposals done by the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust to build a new cafe on the grounds of Chiswick. 1News no. 80A, December 2007 It will be built close to the site of the current cafe, on the site of stable and outbuildings which were demolished in the 1930s. The build starts in 2008. An overview presentation shows the cafe in its relation to Chiswick House, with which it will have a direct visual relation.

The new cafe at Chiswick

The design of the cafe is modern, much in line with the result of a public survey that was held to determine what the public wanted the cafe to look like. Architects from Caruso St. John Partners are setting the new cafe off from the main house in style, but because the structure will be built with Portland stone -the same material the exterior of the house is made of- a sense of unity is maintained. The old cafe will be demolished, making room for an extended lawn; and Old Lord Burlington Lane will shift slightly into the direction of its once original location.

More detailed information on the plans is available here on the site of the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 News no. 80A, December 2007

Hazyness

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A cabin near a pond in a less visited area of the gardens at Paleis Het Loo.

This is part of the greater area of the former palace gardens. Not many visitors of the gardens come here, maybe because the entrance to this part is not very clear. It’s a wooded area, with this hidden pond and cabin.

A Dutchman at Dadiani Palace, Georgia

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Dutch newspaper Volkskrant today reports about a Dutch garden architect who is active in Georgia, the former Russian province. The architect and his Dutch team have probably profited from the fact that the wife of the Georgian president is of Dutch origin. Martin Veltkamp, the architect, says the president himself ordered his consul in The Netherlands to find him a team who could make a design, and be ready on Independence Day, May 26 2007. Apart from some minor construction work, the team was able to meet that deadline.

Photo: Dadiani Palace, Zugdidi
Originally uploaded by tball01

The Dutch architects are currently working on projects in Tblisi, Georgia’s capital city. Their first realised project are is a ‘childrens rest park’ in the gardens around the Dadiani Palace Museum and botanical gardens in the western town of Zugdidi. Situated some 50 kilometers from the Eastern shore of the Black Sea, this town apparently boasts a tropical climate. President Saakashvili opened the ‘childrens rest park’ near the museum on Georgia’s independence day. For the park, trees from France and The Netherlands were brought in.

I hope to be able to give some more information about the actual plans, in the mean time we will need to make do with this photograph of what certainly is new plantation -but probably is not part of the new work in Zugdidi. Having looked at some of his work, it is probable Veltkamp only designed plans for a small portion of the park. Update @ September 10, 2007: there is a picture available here, together with information that the part Veltkamp worked on is 1.5 hectares in size.

Martin Veltkamp has been active since 1983 and is now rapidly becoming one of the most renowned garden architects of The Netherlands, at least one with a very international profile. veltkampdesign.jpgIn 2006 he opened an office in Dubai. One of the few examples of his work I have found (outside his own website) is this design for a house that was for sale in his hometown Bergschenhoek. If this is anything to go by (and seeing the examples on his website it probably is), Veltkamp designs geometrically structured gardens, with several almost secluded areas which all have their own use. In short: ‘cottage style with a rigid twist’ (and just pretend ‘rigid’ can ‘twist’). These areas are contained within and lined with hedges or other natural materials. For the details within these areas, high grade (read: luxury) materials are used.

According to a description in a local (Bergschenhoek) online newspaper, his aim is to design gardens with a minimum of maintenance and a maximum of pleasure. The owner/user of the garden should not be bothered by the design, the design –and subsequently the garden- should assist him in the entertainment of his guests (Veltkamp’s own website). We can see why he opened an office in Dubai, there should be a big market for his trade there.But Georgia? Well, we can’t blame the architect for trying. Update @ September 30, 2007: In the Volkskrant article Veltkamp states that he will have ten year’s worth of work, if the current government remains in power. Since the arrest of an opposition leader earlier this week by president Saakashvili has lead to widespread protests, the future is looking bleak for Veltkamp’s upcoming office opening on November 1st, 2007.