Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Vlaardingerbroek, Pieter

Titel

Ontwerpanalyse bij restauratie. De Zuiderkerkstoren te Amsterdam

Ist Teil von

• Bulletin van de Kon. Ned. Oudheidkundige Bond, 2019-01, Vol.118 (2), p.1-14

Ort / Verlag

Delft: KNOB Koninklijke Nederlandse Oudheidkundige Bond

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Free E-Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In 2017, the restoration of the Zuiderkerk (1603-1614) was completed with the renovation of its tower. This striking tower, designed by Hendrick de Keyser (1565-1621), dominates the silhouette of the eastern part of Amsterdam’s city centre. It consists of a brick base, a sandstone octagon with columns and a wooden spire clad in lead and slate. The tower, which was last restored in 1978, was in need of a complete restoration due to salt efflorescence in the brickwork and rust damage to the natural stone. In addition, the lead of the spire needed renovation. The lead had been painted in a Bentheimer stone colour in 1978, as was the sandstone part of the tower. This change in the colour composition was a result of the ‘white tower plan’ of the Public Works Department, which had started in 1966, when the Montelbaanstoren was painted white. The aim was to paint all lead claddings of seventeenthcentury towers white, based on the idea that the white layer found on the lead cladding of the towers was a remnant of an original finish. When laboratory analysis showed that in the case of the Zuiderkerk this layer was the product of a chemical reaction in the lead and not a finishing coat, painting nevertheless continued, on the grounds that this would show that the city was looking after its heritage. When the most recent restoration of 2015-2017 showed that most of the lead needed to be renewed, the verquestion arose as to whether the 1978 colour composition should be maintained. Subsequent painting had caused the crown of the tower to turn a strange pale pink, which did nothing to improve the appearance of the tower architecture. Initially, the Archivolt firm of architects proposed leaving the lead unpainted and painting the sandstone octagon of the tower in a matching blue-grey colour. This proposal was based on historical colour analysis, the available iconographic material and comparisons with other Amsterdam towers. However, an analysis of the tower and the tower design was lacking. Finally, in consultation with the architect, the current colour scheme was chosen, in which the sandstone was painted in sandstone colour and the lead retained its natural dark colour, resulting in a tower with a clear colour contrast. The justification for this was provided by studying the history of construction and alterations found in literature, archival sources, iconographic material, building and historical colour research. This was supplemented by an analysis of the architecture of the tower, which ultimately played a decisive role. This article is a reworking of and addition to the analysis carried out in 2016. The example of the Zuiderkerkstoren shows how this classical method of architecture and design analysis, which is rarely used in restorations, can be helpful in deciding on the correct type and degree of restoration.