01 · Challenge
17th-century restrictions, contemporary living requirements
The owners of a national listed building on the Rapenburg in Leiden wanted to modernise the ground floor: creating an open kitchen-living area, enlarging the entrance hall and adding a toilet at the rear. The building dates from 1648, lies within the protected townscape of Leiden-Binnenstad and has a listed basement, original fireplace surrounds and historic facade stones. Every intervention had to be reviewed by both the municipal heritage committee and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), making the application procedure considerably more complex than for an ordinary property.
02 · Our approach
Reversible design with respect for the authenticity
We began with a detailed structural survey documenting all listed elements: fireplace surrounds, stucco ceilings, historic floor tiles and the basement vaulting. Based on this, we designed an open kitchen-living area without affecting any load-bearing walls, preserving all historic features in full. The new partition walls were built to be reversible so that a future owner can restore the original layout. We coordinated the design with the Heritage department of the municipality of Leiden before submission, leading to adjustments that significantly accelerated the procedure.
03 · Result
Permit in 12 weeks, authentic character preserved
The building permit was granted within 12 weeks, including a positive opinion from the RCE. The ground floor now has a light, open kitchen looking out onto the Leiden inner gardens, while the fireplace surrounds, stucco ceilings and historic floor are fully intact. The basement has been upgraded to a functional storage space with direct access from the kitchen. Thanks to the detailed working drawings, the contractor could work without unexpected discoveries during construction.