The government department for cultural heritage RCE is adding some 15 “new” buildings to its list to save them for the future.
Unlike the other monuments on the list, such as castles and churches, the buildings selected to become listed date from between 1965 and 1990, a period dubbed “Post 65”.
Many buildings from the period are being demolished and important objects may be lost otherwise, the RCE said.
The list of additional buildings, put together by heritage organisations, local councils, the public, and experts, is based on what was happening at the time, and grouped around themes such as civil activism, environmentalism, and changing religious feeling.
“We looked at what that period meant to the Netherlands,” architectural historian and RCE advisor Eva Wijdeveld told broadcaster NOS.
Over half of all buildings in the Netherlands were built during the period, so bringing back the selection to 15 was “a big job” and the list could easily have been much longer, Wijdeveld said.
The buildings, which are spread across the country, include the Kasbah in Hengelo, an example of experimental social housing. “After the war, the country needed housing quickly and the aspect of communal living was not a priority. That changed, and the Kasbah is a good example,” Wijdeveld said.
The first mosque with a minaret in Almere has also been selected, as have a water tower, a landscape artwork and Lely Stad Centrum station. “They tell a story about the Netherlands and need to be preserved,” Wijdeveld said.
Until 2012, buildings had to be at least 50 years old to become part of the heritage list. “We let that go. Some buildings are being demolished after just 30 years and do not get the time needed to become appreciated,” Wijdeveld said.
In the coming months, the RCE will start a procedure to gauge opinion about the list. The buildings are expected to get monument status in six months, because “what’s gone is gone forever,” she said.
September 13 and 14 is Open Monumentendag, which features heritage buildings, including some not normally open to the public.
