“Play Green” Instead of “Watch Green”

Bernard Buurman (1883-1951) had the ambition to improve the living conditions of the poorest people in the city. At the start of the 20th century, they were living in so-called ‘slopjes’, dead-end alleyways with shacks that had not been touched since the 17th century. A few examples were the alleys behind the Haarlemmerstraat, the Bouwelouwesteeg and the Duizenddraadsteeg. The residents mostly lived on the street, which led to a certain feeling of connection amongst them. Buurman wanted to bring the community feeling of the slopjes to the outside of the city, but with a much better quality of life. The 174 houses of the Transvaalhof were provided with electricity, a toilet, gas to cook with, a coal stove, and every room had fresh air and enough light. We do not often think about those requirements, but that was certainly different 100 years ago! Just as the slopjes were in the city, the Transvaalhof became a place for residents to stay in touch with each other. The round corners of the hof accentuated its openness; it was literally impossible to hide behind a corner! (fig. 1)

What was special about the Transvaalhof was that it was advertised as having ‘play green’ instead of ‘watch green’. The hof was meant to have a playground for children to enjoy. This was different from, for example, the first designs of the Kooipark, where there was barbed wire surrounding the plants, which would ensure that people only looked at the plants instead of ruining them. In that time, ‘play green’ was a new phenomenon. Buurman was probably inspired by his former companion W.C. Mulder (1850-1920), who had been a member of the Volksspeeltuin (people’s playground) association, that had been concerned with creating public and private playgrounds since 1905. Nowadays there is a fence surrounding the green, which gives the impression that people are not allowed in, but that was not the original intention (fig 2).