Themes
Netherlands Trading Society, the Hague
NTS agency, Kneuterdijk, the Hague, circa 1924.
In 1917, Netherlands Trading Society decided to build new premises in the Hague, on the corner of Kneuterdijk/Lange Vijverberg. This had been the site of a celebrated restaurant known as Royal, and until the 17th century, it had also been the site of the Hague residence of the counts of Egmond. The design for the new building was by the Hague architects Marie and Johan van Nieukerken. It is a characteristic example of the considerable Dutch Renaissance oeuvre of this bureau. The representative exterior of this type of building, with its focus on detail and richly decorated interiors remained much in vogue until late in the 1920s. Other well-known buildings by the Van Nieukerkens include the Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (nowadays called Royal Dutch) on Carel van Bylandtlaan, the Hague, the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam and the Duin en Kruidberg villa in Santpoort, today an ABN AMRO conference centre. By 1920, this architectural style had begun to attract fierce criticism. This was why building permission for the new structure was originally refused by the city council on the advice of the city's committee to oversee aesthetic quality. A debate ensued between supporters and detractors that carried on for months until the council eventually voted for the Van Nieukerkens (21 for and 19 against).
In October 1920, construction work started. The design included a doubling of the façade on Kneuterdijk at a later stage, which was never actually implemented. The Neo-Baroque hall is well preserved. On 5 April 1924, the building was opened by Prince Henry. In late 1997, the branch was sold as part of the integration programme and will now house offices.