Poort van Breda

• Date 1992-1999
• Address Sophiastraat, John F. Kennedylaan and Valkenstraat – 4811 ET Breda (Netherlands)

The early 1990s were a golden period for Charles Vandenhove, who was receiving a growing number of commissions from abroad, particularly in the Netherlands. After Amsterdam, The Hague and Maastricht, it was in Breda, not far from the Belgian border, that the Liège-born architect set up his drawing board. When he arrived in Breda, the architect was welcomed with open arms. A previous proposal had sparked an outcry… Vandenhove was received as the ‘urban planning problem-solver’, in the words of Prudent De Wispelaere. Although the project would face some difficulties due to several changes in the client, the planning progressed rapidly on the basis of a site plan drawn by Vandenhove on… a beer carton. The programme, which was fairly straightforward, combined 58 luxury flats and offices around a large courtyard above an underground car park. Once again, Vandenhove had a prime plot of land at his disposal, situated opposite the beautiful Valkenberg Park and a stone’s throw from the River Mark. On this generous plot, he played with volumes and building heights. Facing the park on J.F. Kennedy Avenue and benefiting from a significant setback, he opted for fairly tall buildings. True urban landmarks, the two towers – one with an almost circular plan, the other rectangular – flank a five-storey building. With its red-brick cladding and its dome pierced by oculus windows, the corner tower might bring to mind that of the Balloir, designed around the same time. But for Vandenhove, the references lie elsewhere and are far more local. On his arrival in Breda, the architect from Liège was impressed by the nearby domed prison. From this prison building, he adopted the principle of the zinc roofing as well as the shape of the arched lintels. On Sophiastraat, the complex continues with a four-storey building that blends seamlessly with the historic buildings. Whilst favouring brick and zinc in a highly understated style, Vandenhove nevertheless allows himself a few discreet formal touches, notably in the treatment of the plinth, whose concrete elements are marked by a succession of strigils – a motif of Etruscan and Roman origin that the architect is particularly fond of. The spacious inner courtyard has been given special attention, as evidenced by the paving with its herringbone patterns and the imposing bronze sundial created by José Bosard, a fellow student of Vandenhove’s and a renowned sundial maker in Wallonia.

• Description of the collection

  Photographs of the building site, correspondence, plans, sections and elevations…

• Volumetry 13 archive boxes (1.6 m)
• Bibliography

  BEKAERT, Geert, VERSCHAFFEL, Bart, Charles Vandenhove Art & architecture, Tournai, La Renaissance du livre, 1998, p. 298.

• AUTHOR AND DATE OF THE ENTRY Sébastien Charlier, 2023