Bascule bridge and control house in Amsterdam School style

The construction of the Van Hallbrug in 1923 created a direct traffic route between the neighbourhood Frederik Hendrikbuurt and Haarlemmerweg. Adjacent to the bridge, Piet Kramer designed the control building, the Van Hall house, which stands prominently on Van Hallweg.

This is the third building in the series Kramer designed, after the demolished Zeilstraat house (N348), and the Willems house (N151). The red bitumen roof is shaped like a peaked cap. The bridge is operated from a control lectern underneath the cap’s peak, which shelters the bridgemaster from the rain. Like many of the bridge control buildings Kramer designed, this building has wide, white window frames that continue around the corners. (ARCAM/space&matter)