1930s home in the Sancta Maria complex stylishly renovated
With an honourable mention in the BNA's best building of the year architecture award* in 2015, for her part in ‘Kulturhus De Trefkoele+’ in Dalfsen, interior architect Petra van Trigt has already amply earned her spurs. Recently, she completed her latest project: the renovation of a private residence in one of the listed buildings on the Sancta Maria estate in Noordwijk. The nearly 100-year-old main building with its pavilions, formerly a psychiatric hospital, has been given a new purpose. It has been converted into luxury mansions and apartments, while maintaining the building's cultural and historical identity. Petra van Trigt renovated the building that used to serve as the main entrance, at the centre of the main building.
The handsome plots on the Sancta Maria estate are being restored to their former glory one by one and the dark grey roof slates replaced. Hardwood window frames with double glazing are replacing the old frames. The sand-coloured facades are being carefully cleaned and light up in the sunshine once again. In this way, the historic and old is becoming beautiful and new without losing its origins.
As Petra says, “No two houses on Sancta Maria are the same and that's what makes the project so special. My building dates back to 1930. The residence was handed over to me as an empty shell; there was nothing in it, apart from a lot of pigeons that had made it their home. It has four floors and a total floor space of more than 400 m2. And even though it is a very classic building, I have opted for a sleek, modern interior design. The doors are flat with two bevelled edges. The doors in the hallway, leading to the living room, are shiny black steel. The Luzern door handle, from the Living Black collection, turned out to be a perfect match. I opted for Intersteel, because I love sleek shapes and they offer a wide assortment."
A little history
Between 1928 and 1938, a total of seven classic pavilions and a chapel were built at the heart of the roughly 45-hectare estate. Until 2006, it was a residential care institution where people lived and worked, surrounded by woodland and gardens. The name Sancta Maria may sound slightly unusual but it is a clear reference to a rich Roman Catholic past. And that fits because, for more than 70 years, Psychiatric Hospital Sancta Maria was used to take care of female psychiatric patients of the Catholic faith. The congregation of the Sisters of Mercy church in Venray purchased the estate in 1925. The Amsterdam-based architect Jos Bekkers then prepared a structural plan and building began in 1927. The first patient arrived on 1 December 1928.
