Visualisation is timeless. For centuries, various principles have been used to depict interiors and architecture. The particular way is always determined by the technologies and skills appropriate to their own time.
We welcome you to the September 2023 Edition of “Through Different Eyes” Magazine, for which we dived into the Brinkman Archives to review the advancement of imagination.
All year around, Brinkman Fine Real Estate invites you into a carefully curated portfolio of properties in The Netherlands and beyond, each one a masterpiece of architectural distinction.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
A print from L’Architecture Privée Au Xixe Siècle, M. César Daly, 1874
THE ADVANCEMENT OF IMAGINATION
Visualisation is timeless. For centuries, various principles have been used to depict interiors and architecture. The particular way is always determined by the technologies and skills appropriate to their own time. From the seventeenth century onwards, for instance, drawing books existed, showing different stucco ceilings or fireplaces from which to choose while putting together an interior. Prints, drawings and watercolours were eventually supplemented by new digital techniques, such as 3D-Visualisations and, more recently, Virtual Reality. We at Brinkman Fine Real Estate have also experienced similar developments. For years, we have helped our clients visualise the possibilities of interiors and architecture by creating physical and virtual interiors in order to maximise the value of the property as part of selling campaigns. Recently, it has become possible to view houses in our (foreign-) portfolio from our Amsterdam offices through Virtual Reality glasses and thus experience them physically. Soon, clients will be able to move through 3D-Visualisations through the same glasses. Another step in the advancement of imagination. Not only our eyes are stimulated, but also other senses are employed to feel and experience space.
An early example of imagining interiors and architecture is the drawing book by French architect M. César Daly (1811-1984): L’Architecture Privée Au XIXe Siècle, as shown in the main photo. César Daly had a major role in spreading architectural press within France. The prints depict decorated and painted interiors to match the different rooms of a house. These books were meant to show the numerous possibilities for interiors. More importantly, these prints were actually used for interiors and copied verbatim. For example, many of the beautiful stucco ceilings in Amsterdam canal houses can be linked to a print from such a book.
In the same century and onwards, many depictions of interiors also appeared in the watercolour technique. Unlike drawing books, which depicted individual interior elements, watercolours give an atmospheric image of an entire interior. Thus, a development of showing a three-dimensional space – even if on a two-dimensional plane – in watercolour technique can already be recognised from this point onwards. In the first picture below, you see a late 20th-century watercolour of an Amsterdam interior is shown.
Left: An aquarel from the Brinkman Archives next to a visualisation from a recent campaign
Next to the aquarel, a contemporary 3D-Visualisation of a coach house in Bloemendaal is shown, part of a selling campaign by Brinkman Fine Real Estate. The digital age offered the opportunity to create three-dimensional interiors. Thus, Brinkman Fine Real Estate began incorporating 3D-Visualisations in sales campaigns to express the potential of the interior and architecture. The advent of Virtual Reality glasses provided an even stronger experience and perception of the home’s atmosphere.
Although each of these visualisation techniques has a different manifestation, what they have in common is that they all depict the possibilities of the interior and architecture. Current developments harken back to the early fundamentals of visualisation and will always build on them. The way visualisations are deployed has evolved, but the underlying historical and architectural knowledge aspect has remained the same. Historical knowledge and its development is and will always be a fundamental principle.
A viewing through Virtual Reality glasses.
Source: César Daly, M. L’architecture privée au XIXe siècle. Troisième série. Décorations intérieures peintes. Paris, 1874.
Text: Anna Vlaardingerbroek
Student History of Art
LATEST LISTING: LIVING IN FIVE CENTURIES
LATEST LISTING: LIVING IN FIVE CENTURIES
The assembly of three canal houses at Herengracht 332-336 in which this apartment is located beautifully reflects the layered building history of Amsterdam’s Canal Belt. The oldest building and national monument was built in 1620 at the time of the construction of this part of the Canal Belt. The apartment has a private parking garage within walking distance, located in the Romeinsarmsteeg, one of Amsterdam’s most charming historic alleys.
A layering of building history continues in the interior, through the presence of a Japanese ZEN room, counterbalanced by the presence of a beautiful dining room in 17-century style. The view of the canal from the eight continuous windows makes this 220 M2 apartment a rare find. It allows for living in five centuries in the heart of Amsterdam’s historic city centre.
VILLA LA GAVIOTA
VILLA LA GAVIOTA
At Brinkman Fine Real Estate, we often say that a house is more than just a house. It is a home, a sanctuary; it is family; it is character, an identity, a friendship. And sometimes, it is also a work of art.
Villa La Gaviota is such a house – more than a masterpiece of architecture, it is a soaring sculptural expanse that pays tribute to the splendor of the Mediterranean landscape and the sea. Appearing from above like seagull on the verge of flight, from within, La Gaviota nearly dances, a choreography of space and air and shelter, of light and shade and form.
“I think architecture, for good or bad, is very influential on human living,” explains Alberto Rubio, who designed La Gaviota – one of the first of his so-called “bird houses” – in 1998. “The idea is that a sculpture is thought of as something to be seen, but not lived in. My idea is that people have to live in the sculpture, and when you make your life in a sculpture house like this, then I believe your life changes”.
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RECENT ACQUISITION
RECENT ACQUISITION: LOHMANSTRAAT
The Lohmanstraat is known for its beautiful canopy of overhanging Plane trees. A living testament to Amsterdam’s commitment to harmonising its historic past with its cosmopolitan present, an address that encapsulates the city’s ethos.
Surrounded by the charm of the location, the Vondelpark beckons just a stone’s throw away, inviting relaxed walks, invigorating workouts or serene moments of tranquillity. The apartment is characterised by gorgeous wooden floors throughout and an overarching dedication to meticulous craftsmanship.
When purchasing, we work in the same expert manner you are accustomed to. Based on your wishes, we will locate the unique space — the home — most suited to your wishes and your needs. And at every stage of the purchasing process, we stand by to support you as your partner, to ensure you find the home that is your home.