Bergpolderflat

J.A. Brinkman, L.C. van der Vlugt and W. van Tijen projected this 'existenz-minimum' housing block with the same values of the Dutch 'Nieuwe Zakelijkheid' (New Objectivity) that they used in their most famous masterpiece, the Van Nelle Factory. The Bergpolderflat was the first high-rise project in the Netherlands specifically meant for working class-families. The galleried flats, surrounded by a collective garden and provided with three shops, arose amid perimeter blocks and became the proto-type of many post-war tower blocks. Mainly constructed with a steel skeleton, also pre-fab elements of concrete were used. The basement served for storage, laundry and a central heating installation. Besides the glazed stairwell, a lift could be used to reach the galleries and from there the individual entrances. Originally, each unit had a very economic plan, fit for day and night use by means of a glazed sliding wall, as well as a shower and a west-facing balcony.