Monumental

August 05, 2013 6:06 AM

WILLEMSTAD - Napa, the weekend supplement of Amigoe, covers stories behind historic buildings in Willemstad in a special weekly feature called ‘Monumental’. In the latest issue, Randolph van Eps and Kimberley de l’ Isle of law firm VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne were interviewed about the historic Curacao office building of the firm.

Willemstad has been on the World Heritage List since 1997. According to UN organization Unesco, the historic part of the town is a European-colonial heritage of major value that displays the organic growth of a multicultural society over three centuries. Unfortunately, not every building is in the best condition. Some buildings on the monuments and historic buildings list recently collapsed under torrential rain that gave them the last push to collapse. But there are also success stories, historic buildings that were beautifully restored where people work and live.

Home to the “flying lawyers”
“Each time I return from a business trip and have consequently been away from the island, I truly come home when I enter the office,” says Kimberley de l’Isle, senior associate of law firm VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne, about the historic office building.

The town house located at Julianaplein 22 is “physically” connected to the building at number 20 and has a rich history. It is on the list of protected buildings.

De l’Isle, who has been employed with the law firm for almost 10 years and resides in Curaçao, originally comes from the sister island of Aruba. She admires the efforts of Curaçao to preserve the historic buildings and to place them on the list of protected buildings. “It is so wonderful to see that the island wants to preserve cultural and historic values of historic buildings. Do not get me wrong, I am of course extremely proud of Aruba, but unfortunately quite a few buildings were demolished there and new buildings have been erected in their place, which of course is a pity.”

Kindly disposed towards women 

Despite the fact that the building dates back to 1850, it is equipped with all modern comforts and is “also perceived as a very female-friendly working environment,” De l’Isle adds. In 2011, the law firm won the prize of the “Stichting Vrouwennetwerk Curaçao” (Foundation Women’s Network Curaçao) for being the most female-friendly organization in Curaçao. “The office even has a Nursing Mothers Room. For a long time, more female lawyers were employed here, which is now more balanced by the presence of male colleagues,” De l’Isle jokes.

Charisma historic building
The logo of VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne is displayed at the façade of the building at number 22 at Julianaplein. The building is owned by the “Stichting Monumentenzorg” (Foundation for the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings and Sites). This building is directly connected to the building at number 20, owned by the law firm itself.
“The Stichting Monumentenzorg really delivered a beautiful restoration. We moved into this building 20 years ago, when the surrounding town houses were still in quite dilapidated condition. I am convinced that the restoration of the building gave the neighborhood a positive impulse. After all, we now notice that most of them have been restored and that other law firms and businesses also choose buildings like these. Of course, such a historic building has charisma,” according to a proud Randolph van Eps.

Lady Justice

The exterior of the building is reminiscent of the distant past. The contrast when entering the office therefore could not be bigger. The expectation of a dusty interior dominated by dark-colored wooden furniture is completely negated. The sheer white modern interior leaves a striking impression. After the reception, Van Eps firmly leads the way, pausing in the corridor at a work of art made of glass. The man-size work of art was made with a good eye for detail. The shapes blend in various hues and thus unveil a female figure. The statue lights up when a few rays of sun from outside “touch” the glass. “As far as I know, this is the largest Lady Justice made of glass. It was a lot of work for my aunt, Bernadette van Eps, who is a sculptor, in the Netherlands. Because of the size, the glass had to be specially cast,” says Van Eps, eyes shining. 
“As a law firm, we consider ourselves very progressive regarding technological applications,” according to Van Eps when he enters the conference room. The room contains an enormous oval table with comfortable chairs, and the walls are covered with two big screens meant for video conferencing. “As we employ more than 35 lawyers and a total of 75 employees through the offices in the Dutch Caribbean – the ABC Islands, Saba, St. Maarten, Statia – and the Amsterdam office, this was the ideal solution for us,” Van Eps says, while immediately giving a demonstration. In the wink of an eye, contact is established with the Bonaire office. He exchanges a light-hearted conversation with lawyer Mark Kater, who works in Bonaire. “Despite the fact that we are spread across so many places, we are one big unit. We are “one firm”, also thanks to this system,” according to Van Eps. The unity of the firm is literally displayed at the front desk, where photos of all 75 employees of all offices can be seen on the wall.

Flying lawyers
The law firm whose operating and knowledge base is in Curaçao, where a total of approximately 22 lawyers and 45 employees work, serves the smaller markets of the other islands. The policy for the region is that the lawyers travel to the islands to reinforce the other teams entirely free of charge. “This service is highly appreciated, because on many islands high-quality specialist legal knowledge is sometimes lacking. One should not forget either that there is often a need for independent legal advice in smaller communities,” says De l’Isle, while she adds with a smile that this service does not apply to Europe. Van Eps explains that the law firm “can take pride in being the largest in the region” because of the total number of employees mentioned above.

History
The town house that has been built completely in the typical style of the 19th century houses of Scharloo faces Julianaplein, that used to be called “bo’i palu” (under the tree). In 1900, the house switched owners from Sarah Fereira Brandao, the widow of Jeosuah Naar, to her daughter Idela Naar and her husband Moses Levy Maduro. Their daughter Rebecca married Salmon Nordechay Levy Maduro, called “Momon Guigi”, in 1908. After Rebecca’s parents died, the couple occupied the building. The town house has a small front garden enclosed by a wooden railing that is supported by columns with geometrical decorations. The terrace is characterized by grey and white marble tiles that were once imported from Carrara in Italy. Back then, these tiles were very popular.

Elevator
The building, that has an almost square façade, has a balcony at the second floor, flanked by windows and crowned by a pediment. The cornice is decorated with a medallion. It is reported that Momon Guigi would have been so obese that an elevator was therefore installed in the building in the thirties, because he had trouble climbing stairs. In the same period the renovation also took place, adding a terrace with Ionic columns to the back wall of the house. “The staff still often use the elevator, for that matter,” according to Van Eps, who jokingly adds that the use of the elevator these days – in a culture in which exercise is increasingly important – is still more popular than climbing stairs.

Pro Bono foundation
The law firm established the Pro Bono VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne Foundation in 2009, meant to provide pro bono legal services to underprivileged people and non-profit foundations, starting small businesses and other small enterprises. It also is meant to develop and promote science, education, social education, and culture in the Caribbean. Some examples of the work of the foundation are: drafting an agreement concerning the use of a sports field between a softball club and the government, assisting the “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds” in drafting contracts for the use of the pictorial mark, and giving legal advice to Pro Monumento. For instance, the foundation could quite recently prevent the demolition of the cinema Cinelandia in Punda without Pro Monumento being heard as stakeholder. One of the board members of the foundation also is on the board of CliniClowns.

House for “Pomchi”
Beside many Pro Bono projects, the foundation committed itself to realizing a new house for Johanna Cratsz – better known as “Pomchi” in the neighborhood of Julianaplein and Penstraat – in 2009. After she had provided the neighborhood with homemade lunches and sandwiches from her house for 30 years, she had to find another home at age 74 because the landlord wanted the house to himself. She was forced to leave her familiar surroundings and find temporary accommodation with her daughter.
The neighborhood, including the Pro Bono foundation and the architectural firm IMD Design, took up their neighbor’s cause. At the initiative of architect Anko van der Woude and with the help of Monumentenzorg, the garage of the law firm was converted into a home for “Pomchi”. If her back does not bother her, she still sells food. “I had back surgery two years ago, and sometimes my back aches so much I just keep walking. For if I sit down I am afraid I cannot get up anymore.”