A three-story high white plastered facade with two hideous ATMs and an emergency door at the bottom: that's what Koningsplein 10 looked like in recent years...
Regaining the historic facades
"A three-story high white plastered facade with two hideous ATMs and an emergency door at the bottom: that's what Koningsplein 10 looked like in recent years." Similarly, the facade of Koningsplein 12-14, the immediate neighbour, was certainly not eligible for a beauty prize.
These are buildings that you pass by without a glance and of which you would never suspect that it had once been a beautiful piece of architecture. Kees Doornebal of Rappange & Partners has spent the last six years tackling the entire block on Koningsplein, from the old Scheltema (now Arket), via the Art Nouveau facade where Dyson will move in, to the Albert Heijn on the corner (now Victoria's Secret) and set his sights on regaining the historic facades.
He tells Het Parool in July 2022: "Until 1880 all the buildings here were so narrow, only after that they were linked together and provided with a new facade. That's why I thought it would be great to show how small-scale Koningsplein used to look".
Based on photos from the 1910s and 1920s, the renovation of the entire block was redrawn.
Koningslein 12. In 1889 it housed a shirt and hat store and in 1970, shoe store Manfield. More recently, a computer store housed at this location. 2022., for Dyson we carry out the design management for the interior of their first store in the Netherlands. Sometimes, we discover gems that emerge after such a thorough metamorphosis. This is a wonderful example
We’re looking forward to turning the brandstore up to the top next few months. Stay tuned