3-3. Boekhandel Dominicanen - Adapating

Background of Boekhandel Dominicanen

The Boekhandel Dominicanen was consecrated in 1294 as a Dominic church. It was forced to cease religious activities when Napoleon occupied Maastricht in 1794. Although it was returned to the Netherlands in 1815, it was never used for religion. Instead, it constantly changes its functions, from the city government archives warehouse, boxing arena, fire department equipment warehouse, bicycle parking place, concert hall, and finally into the bookstore that what we know. During this process, the church itself suffered a lot of damage. However, in 2004, the restoration work of the church was completed by SATIJNplus Architects. After the restoration was complete, SATIJNplus Architects did not withdraw its hands but cooperated with the subsequent design studio Merkx+Girod. They worked together to find out what is a suitable plan for this church. SATIJNplus even formulated a brief which the interior architect had to follow to ensure the monumental character of the church would be respected. Throughout the process, several meetings included different related parties that all opinions are respected and considered as equally valuable. In this case, although the history of the church has gone through hundreds of years of religious activities, when it lost its function, the unrestricted reprogramming of the Netherlands made the existence of the church itself thinner during the process, and the church became a space carrier. The significance of function is far greater than the building itself. Nevertheless, the combination of restoration and a more moderate bookstore business model allowed the church to become an attraction in its own right. According to the information provided by Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg, before the church was converted into a bookstore from 2005 to 2006, the church also experienced a largescale restoration between 1912 and 1917 by the famous Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers and Willem Sprenger. According to my private interview with Mr. Rob Brouwers of the architectural firm SATIJNplus, the national monument needs to seek the cooperation of Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (R.C.E) before making any changes. R.C.E will provide historical experts to conduct in-depth research on the building itself. Analyze and provide suggestions. Taking this case as an example, historical experts will make assessments based on historical values and current conditions, and draw analysis diagrams of buildings, and make value grading according to colors. Blue, green, and yellow each represent, high-value, positive value, and negative value. The architect will carry out the design plan according to this analysis drawing. According to the Assumptions and considerations for advice on built and green national monuments on the R.C.E website23, they provide the basic preservation knowledge and guidelines of the monument owner. In the guidebook, it is mentioned that R.C.E can provide different bits of advice at various stages of the case. Depending on the condition of the monument and design, the recommendations will also be different.

Floor Plan in different period

Redrawall by Hungche Cho, According to the data from “Dominicanen” , Historisch Centrum Limburg, and Merkx + Girod

1895 Floor Plan 1974 Floor Plan

2006 First Floor 2006 Ground Floor

Restoration Before 1912-1917 and After it

According to the description in the book, the church has been used as a warehouse for the city government for nearly a century, and the result has also caused a great burden on the church building. Therefore, in 1907, the architect Willem Sprenger was able to propose a restoration plan, and it was implemented in 1912. Although later on the church was used as an archive of the municipal government in 1976, most of the space was used as a reversible form and did not touch the wall of the church. During the 1912-1917 restoration process, architect Sprenger and his mentor Dr. Cuypers had different opinions on restoration. For example, Willem once mentioned, "17thcentury portal in front of the west facade between the Conterforst was demolished on the advice of Dr. Cuypers and the alderman of the Municipality." 24 According to The Venice Charter "Article 11. The valid contributions of all periods to the building of a monument must be respected, since unity of style is not the aim of a restoration." 25 As a restoration architect in the 20th century, his concept is still in line with modern restoration principles. He built a good foundation for the subsequent restoration in 2005-2006, and his restoration standards coincided with SATIJNplus.

Dominicanerkerkstraat 1890-1895 Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg – photo number 21133 Dominicanerkerkstraat1903 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.142 Dominicanerkerkstraat1977 Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg – photo number 21145

Restoration in 2005-2006

In 2000, the city government planned to renovate the Entre-Deux shopping area located next to the church, and the government planned to include the church in the plan. Later on, the municipality commissioned SATIJNplus to conduct an investigation, and in 2005 began to carry out restoration works. The contents of the restoration works contain vault paintings, roof, gutters, walls, joints, buttresses, pinnacles, corbels, stained glass, wood, circuit installation. Among the work, the tombstones and murals in the church, in particular, require special attention by The Cultural Heritage Department and Land Affairs Department. In the process of the project, the necessary modernization was carried out for the sake of future use of the space. The basement was newly equipped with toilets, book storage space, heating equipment, lighting, etc.

Restoration 2005-2006 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.271

Vault painting Restoration 2005-2006 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.217

Analyse of Boekhandel Dominicanen

Skin

According to the 1840 archive drawing of Historisch Centrum Limburg, it can be seen that the exterior of the church has not changed significantly from the modern one. During the restoration period of 1912-1917, the stained glass was partially replaced. And the sash window with bolted frames in the west was replaced with pointed arch windows. Afterward, the restoration between 2005 and 2006 continued to use glass only for cleaning and maintenance. And during this restoration, the portal on the west side of the 17th century was moved to another place and became the facade we are familiar with today under the instructions of Dr. Cuypers. In addition, the biggest change is that there were originally many houses built on the outer wall of the church itself on the east side of the church. They were also removed during the first restoration and kept their distance. In this change, the entrance in the south aisle may have disappeared before, and Architect Sprenger has restored the demolished intermediate style of the former entrance. The restoration from 2005 to 2006 carried out comprehensive maintenance of the exterior of the church, and it also carried out partial modernization, such as gutters. The change is its west entrance. Merkx+Girod redesigned a new entrance portal for the church, using steel as a material to design an entrance that can be opened like a book, "It should make passers-by curious" by Evelyne Merkx. 26 As a historical monument building, the appearance of the church has been preserved to the maximum extent, except that the entrance has a new change under the presence of the bookstore, even if there is such a change, the entrance can be removed without damaging the building. It is very vital to understand that the adaptation strategy lies in the balance between the old and the new. Whether it’s the first or second restoration, both are trying to find the balance.

Fig.8 Drawing1840 by Ph. van Gulpen Photo Credit: LGOG 581

Fig.9 Church Dominicanen West Facade1938 Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg– photo number 21133

Restoration 1912-1917 East Side Before 1912, houses built against the church 2006 New Entrance for the bookstore Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.131 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.242 – photo number 21128

Structure

Boekhandel Dominicanen is a classic Gothic church, so there are many iconic elements in the structure, such as rib, Latin cross, apse, pointed arch, flying buttresses, etc. The building materials are mainly marl and yellow stone from the Netherlands and Belgium. In addition, the supporting structure of the pointed arch is made of wood. According to the information in the book, the two restorations did not make major changes to the structure. In 1912-1917, architect Willem Sprenger removed the plaster part of the pillars of the church and returned to the original material appearance. The restoration work from 2005 to 2006, only the floor and basement were updated. Apart from strengthening the structure and installing the necessary modern facilities, it did not have any other impact on the structure. In 2006, the bookstore officially began the renovation of the interior of the bookstore. Merkx+Girod built a structure made of steel inside the bookstore. According to the Municipality's restrictions on monuments, the structure will not damage the bricks and tiles in the church. Therefore the bookstore structure and the pillars and walls always maintain a small space in between. From the above information, it can be seen that even with the adaption design strategy, the minimum changes to the structure are the core concept, and the more it lies in the maintenance and coexistence. According to the private interview with Mr. Rob Brouwers from SATIJNplus, during the restoration, in addition to considering the building itself, the architects must also take into consideration the subsequent use of the bookstore. The balance between the two is a major point for them, and the restoration process also uses similar techniques and materials as much as possible.

In 1905 columns were still plastered before 1912 restoration Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.136

Basement Restoration 2005-2006 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.272 Church Nave Structure Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.76

Dominicanen 2006 Built Steel Structure Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.243

Space

The interior space of the church is the place that has undergone the most changes among all the lenses. From the 1900s, it was used as a government warehouse, then in the 1930 art exhibition, the 1970 municipal government archive, and the bookstore today. However, its space has not been irreversibly changed. Before the restoration in 1912-1917, when the church was still used as a warehouse it used to divide by two with the bricks wall. And between the columns, there are still supporting beams from the mezzanine floor that were installed in the side aisles. In response to the needs of the Maastricht municipality archive in 1970, a switching and transformer room was installed in the northern aisle, and a small part of the south was newly built with walls as storage space for central heating room, and a storage room. Then in 2005- 2006, the temporary wall on the south side was removed. During 2005-2006, one of the key points of interior restoration was the murals and vault paintings on the north wall. Because of the importance of its history and artistic value, the professional restoration work was completed by the Restauratie Atelier Limburg Foundation. The biggest change to the interior space from 2005 to 2006 was the entry of bookstores. In addition to the installation of steel shelves in the south, the function of a coffee shop was also introduced in the north. Although the space added many modern elements inside, it did not destroy the original church. For the overall atmosphere, the lighting is set on the newly added steel structure to reduce the chance of damaging the building itself. Not only harm the building, but the soft lighting adds to the brilliance of the church. A small amount of lighting is used on the vault paintings to make the space experience even better. The changes in architectural use attributes have the greatest impact on the interior space. With the presence of modern bookstores, many new elements must be indispensable. Among them, the lighting, bookshelves, coffee shops, and even warehouses have a far-reaching influence. The interlacing of the old and the new is most clearly reflected in the interior space. The space is divided by bookshelves and display cabinets. The altar where scriptures are taught in the east is replaced by a coffee shop. Under such spatial interlacing, the alternation of old and new elements is a surprising fusion.

1900s Church was used to divided 1962 Church Interior Space

2021 Bookstore Interior Space as two with brick wall Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg Photo Credit: Hung-Che Cho Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.140 – photo number 21128

Fourteen Century Wall Painting 2021 Present Wall Painting 2005-2006 Restoration of Vault painting

recorded in 1867 by Victor de Stuers Photo Credit: Hung-Che Cho Photo Credit: Historisch Centrum Limburg – GAM 1681 Photo Credit: Dominicanen P.213

Summary

The first preservation between 1912 and 1917, the main purpose was restoration, and from 2005 to 2006 it was still doing the restoration, but at the same time, it also had modernization according to the subsequent functional requirements. The bookstore that was transformed into a modern bookstore must inevitably require changes in space and equipment. According to the Venice Charter "Article 5. The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the layout or decoration of the building. It is within these limits only that modifications demanded by a change of function should be envisaged and may be permitted." 27 I believe that the Boekhandel Dominicanen is an excellent example of balancing modernization and monument preservation, while still following the rules of the Charter. Although the results of the two preservations are not the same, the common goals are to preserve the core values of historical monuments and continue to use buildings. Since its founding, the church has experienced numerous renovations and restorations, but it has kept most of its essential values. It all has to credit to the careful preservation and renovation of the architect.

Interior Space in 2021 Photo Credit: Hung-Che Cho