For thirteen years, photographer Charlotte Bogaert was a regular at the former craft school at 150 Verspronckweg in Haarlem. She recorded the history of practical education and followed the renovation into a modern apartment complex. This resulted in two exhibitions and a masterful book: The Master of Haarlem.
Bogaert has lived in Haarlem for 25 years. “I actually come from Zeeland and studied photography at the art academy in Breda. Via Amsterdam I ended up here, like so many new Haarlemmers.”
The building on the Verspronckweg was taken into use as a craft school in 1920. Charlotte Bogaert started photographing the building in 2010. “I live nearby. At that time the Sterren College was still there, but it was already clear that the building would get a new destination. I first took pictures there for a few months when it was still in use as a school.”
Apartment block
At the beginning of 2011, the Sterren College moved to a new building on the Badmintonpad and is now called the Spaarne College after the merger with the Daaf Gelukschool and the Paulus Mavo. Bogaert: “When I said goodbye to the school building, I spoke to several former students and teachers. They told how things used to be at the vocational school. I wanted to have those stories in the book. But I didn’t know then that it was all would take that long.”
The building on the Verspronckweg was empty for a long time or was occupied anti-squat. Eventually, a project developer bought the building and converted it into the current De Meester apartment complex. Bogaert also followed the construction process closely. The last homes were delivered a few months ago.
“Unfortunately, craft schools no longer exist, while a good craftsman can work anywhere”
“Unfortunately, craft schools no longer exist. That is a real shame,” says Bogaert. “I am impressed by all the beautiful crafts that were taught here. When I spoke to former students, their eyes often lit up. Some had also worked all their lives as painters or carpenters, for example.”
Foreign craftsmen
“During the entire construction process, sometimes as many as eighty percent of the professionals came from abroad. From Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, even from Ukraine. And the kitchens were built by Brazilians. In itself good professionals, but it sometimes makes mutual communication difficult. That is why sometimes something had to be redone, for example because the drawings had not been read properly.”
Charlotte Bogaert hopes that technical subjects will become fashionable again. “It would be nice if my book could help a little bit with that. That young people learn again how beautiful the woodworking profession is. You know: now all those international studies are popular, but if you are a good craftsman, you can also study worldwide get to work. And without people who work with their hands, we have no homes, nothing.”
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The diligent work of the Haarlem photographer has resulted in two exhibitions in addition to a book. In the ABC Architecture Center the conversion of a school into a residential complex is central. In addition to photos, construction drawings are also available. Even the first sketches from 1920 can be admired.
The second exhibition is in the Noord-Hollands Archief, explains Bogaert. “Here I try to show the past of the vocational school. These are photos and stories, but above all many objects that were used at the school or that were made by students.”
Aviator suit
One of those special objects is an old aviator suit. Bogaert: “I saw a man standing on the Verspronckweg, who was looking very attentively at the construction project. I spoke to him and it turned out that his father-in-law was a teacher at the aeronautical engineering course. The family even had a large wooden airplane propeller lying around. It is not entirely certain, but it could have been made at the school. They also still had that aviator suit. The propeller and the suit have been given a nice place in the exhibition.”
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The Master of Haarlem
The lion’s share of Bogaert’s work ended up in the book De Meester van Haarlem. “Of course I am a photographer, so there are a lot of photos in it. Photos that I took myself, but also a lot of historical images. The oldest photo is from 1919. The newest I made shortly before the book went to the printer.”
Each chapter in the book is dedicated to a specific place in the old school building. This way, the current tenants can see what used to be taught in the place where they now live. Bogaert: “It’s funny to see how old and new come together. I know three current tenants who used to go to school in the same building. And a handyman who regularly works there is also a former student. And another resident turns out to be to live in the place where her hairdresser used to take lessons.”
The residential complex De Meester exudes the history of the building. For example, there is a large, original stained glass window from the old school in the central stairwell and several historical photos can be seen in the corridors. Bogaert: “I selected those photos together with architect Rik Bakker. They hang in places where there used to be a stairwell or a door to a classroom. So now you can see how the building was used in the past.”
The book De Meester van Haarlem contains about 500 photos of and stories about the former trade school and its conversion into an apartment complex. It is available at the ABC Architecture Center, the Noord-Hollands Archief and Haarlem bookshops.
The exhibition in the ABC Architecture Center on the Groot Heiligland can be seen until September 3. The exhibition in the Noord-Hollands Archief on Jansstraat runs until 17 June.