As a civil servant, Hans Scheijen knew his place: in the background. shine and he left the credits to his aldermen. Nevertheless, the out and out Heerlen resident has left a strong mark on the spatial environment of the city. Scheijen brought the right parties together, informed everyone, listened, massaged and steered thoughtfully. “Until the moment a process was irreversible and a decision was made,” sketches his friend Fiedel van der Hijden.
“He was involved, had a great sense of strategy and combined this with idealism for the city. But he was also thoughtful, silent, closed. And often it was ‘halt, back for a moment’, a kind of Echternach procession. He was one of the most colorful officials, although you didn’t see it from the outside. Something between an adult hippie and a civil servant who cannot lose his freedom. This is a great loss for Heerlen”, is how Michel Huisman characterizes him, who states that the Maankwartier would not have come about without Scheijen.
Brainstorm
Van der Hijden agrees: “I am sure that without Hans we would not have had the Moon Quarter.” Because Scheijen was the one who invited a group of artists to the city more than twenty years ago to brainstorm about a solution for the station and city park Oranje Nassau. This prompted Huisman to develop his idea. “Even after that, Hans has refloated the Maankwartier more often,” says Huisman. “The project has relied entirely on him.”
Architect Francine Houben of bureau Mecanoo has also often worked with Scheijen, such as at the town hall and the Royal cinema. “He could put complex processes on track and prevent them from stranding in advance. We wish that all towns and villages had and have a Hans Scheijen in their municipality: an enthusiastic and involved civil servant. He gave professionals and specialists the necessary space to perform optimally. A golden man for the city.”
Photographers
“Hans gave people space and could listen and coordinate well, without contributing much in terms of content,” photographer Klaus Tummers remembers Scheijen, with whom he founded the Fotografen Kollektief Heerlen in the 1980s. For example, they created the Heerlens Dia-Nieuws together, a predecessor of the local broadcaster, which fed the visitors of the H5 cinema on Saturday evenings with Heerlens news. Shortly afterwards, Scheijen started Van der Hijden Kultuur Adventure, a theater festival that later grew into the current Cultura Nova.
Scheijen came from the Molenberg district, where his parents ran a driving school. Before he started working for the municipality, he worked for the General Miners’ Fund and was an active member of the civil servants’ union. At the beginning of October he was told that he was terminally ill.
His last project was the renovation and new construction of Royal and Rivoli. Francine Houben: “It is now our task to complete Hans’ good preparatory work in a spectacular way, by realizing a project that the people of Heerlen can be proud of. With this we honor Hans and his mission has been successful.”
