The former music school on Haagdijk in Breda has lost its original function. The building, with its original modular room structure, has been partially demolished to make way for apartments.
Logistics driving the plan
The preserved building section directly facing Haagdijk has been extended on both sides with two new volumes to ‘complete’ the street facade. Perpendicular to Haagdijk, a new building volume has been placed, oriented towards the monumental inner courtyard of the original complex. The semi-basement car park is accessed through Donkvaart.
A richly detailed entrance
The former music school was designed by P.J. van Genk in 1906 as an almshouse (Oude Mannenhuis). The facade of the old music school, featuring a richly detailed main entrance, is characterised by repetition in details such as windows, ornaments, and arches. This is typical of the Catholic Institutional Style (Katholieke Gestichtsstijl). This principle has been continued in the new design in a contemporary manner.
In harmony with the inner courtyard
The new building volume facing the inner courtyard is finished entirely in white, creating an equal boundary for the courtyard, together with the opposite existing monumental buildings.
Historic shop signs on the Haagdijk
Since 2000, commissioned by the Business Association De Haagdijken, unique shop signs have been regularly attached to the facades of 25 properties on Haagdijk. These signs tell the story of residents and shopkeepers, dating back to the distant Middle Ages. The signs were designed by Klaartje Scheer and Eloi Koreman. The Trumpeter adorns the facade of the former music school.