An Italian courtyard in Amsterdam
The front door on the left was for downstairs, the one
on the right was for the stair to the two upper floors. The previous occupant
had turned the house into a ceramic free-for-all, tiled everything, partitions,
floors, appurtenances. I now regret not having photographed it. But I couldn't
at the time, merely looking at it made my stomach churn. The cellar was the only place that
gave some idea of how much space there was. The house was almost square in
plan, 8.5 by 9.5 metres.
Our predecessor liked tiles; we prefer space and light.
In the rear of the house, architect Peter Kropp
designed a well three by four metres in plan reaching from the cellar to the
roof. Out went the tiles and the old stair. A new metal semicircular stair
again reaching from cellar to roof was inserted at the rear of the well. At the
top, a skylight. All floors were given windows overlooking the well. It's
finished now, but once again it's a house I can't photograph. Not because it
makes me feel ill, I'm simply unable to capture the sense of space and light.
It is as if we were living in an Italian courtyard. Where the washing has just
been brought in.
Hans Aarsman
