Now the Gouvernement is a catering establishment with apartments above it

Back to the original contours

The Gouvernement has defined the appearance of the Gouvernementsplein in Bergen op Zoom since 1771. Over the years, the monumental building served as a residence, office and military hospital. Of course, from time to time renovations were made to make these functions possible. Under the motto "save what can be saved," the monument was recently restored to its former glory.

In the 1990s, the municipality of Bergen op Zoom bought the Gouvernement from the State, only to sell it right back to a developer who turned it into a shopping center. The building was stripped and renovated with minimal respect for its monumental value. In recent years, Weyts Architects did everything possible to bring the building back to its original contours. While preserving the facade, roofing and joists, they made the building suitable for hospitality and housing.

Setbacks and windfalls

"The quality of the shell and shell was quite good," says Laurijs Weyts of Weyts Architects. "However, a lot of authentic interior material had disappeared. Only the trusses and joists seemed to lend themselves to doing something with them." But there were also windfalls. Weyts' client, M. Simons Vastgoed, gladly agreed to remove the additions and canopy from the courtyard. A hefty reduction in gross floor area.

Acoustic challenge

The combination of a hospitality and residential use created quite an acoustical challenge. "Most of the wooden joists were strong enough to support the dwellings, unlike the underlying steel structure installed at the time. By renewing the steel structure and laying a floating screed on top of it with a substantial insulation package, we achieved the required sound insulation. On the second floor, the heights were more than sufficient for this. On the second floor, the net passageway under the trusses became slightly lower."

Time pressure

Important for the feasibility of the plan were the Subsidy for the Preservation of Monuments (to be submitted in March) and the monument grant from the Province of North Brabant (to be submitted in September). The grants were for properties with high monumental value. "However, the amount of documents we had to submit for this was enormous," Weyts says. "Because the grant applications ran concurrently with the permit procedure, the time pressure was considerable. In addition, the grant had to be spent within a year and the hospitality entrepreneur also wanted to hurry."

With appropriate wink

Thus, step by step, the rehabilitation of the Gouvernement emerged. The facades with their beautiful, rhythmic layout were refreshed. Reconstruction of the windows to the 18th-century layout was still considered, but was called off in view of the costs. Daylight in the roof was controlled as much as possible through the courtyard so that the roofs on the street side could remain relatively closed. And, of course, the perception of the historic roof trusses was maximized throughout. "In almost every house you can find something of this," says Dr. K. K., "and in almost every house."