The two top floors of Aura Winkel were once used as an office center. At the moment we are looking for serious and creative entrepreneurs who dare to re-envision what is possible here. The unit consists of 15 rooms and is spacious, very easy to reach, centrally located and incredibly charming.

As you take the first exit to Punda from the bridge, the stately Aura Winkel building is the first major monument to greet you on your way into Scharloo. It is situated at the Scharlooweg 72-76. This remarkable building stands an uncharacteristic three stories high – plus a little observation tower on top.

We are renting out the top two floors of Aura Winkel, but are open to concepts that include the entire building with its outbuildings.

1st floor:

The main entrance of the building is via the wide balcony in front. On the other three sides of the building there are also staircases going up. The main spaces in the middle of the floor are surrounded by a wide corridor connecting to two wings on the south side of the building. The spaces here look out over a small patio. On this floor there are a total of eleven separate spaces, that vary in size between 15 – 24 M2. Several of these spaces are connected through removable walls, so the possibility exists to reconnect spaces to get to a maximum size room of 50 M2. On this floor there are a kitchenette, two toilets and a supply closet with mop sink. This floor features beautiful wooden floors, traditional lace woodworking details and frosted glass doors.

2nd floor:

A wide corridor can be accessed by one of the two internal staircases. All the rooms on this floor have direct access to the wide balcony overlooking the yard and the hills of Scharloo Abao beyond. On this floor there are a total of four separate spaces, that vary in size between 19 – 32 M2. On this floor there are a kitchenette and one toilet. This floor features beautiful wooden floors, an original mosaic tile floor and green frosted glass doors with brass fixings.

History

The first building activity on this plot dates back between 1729 and 1745. At that time there is a house with a few annexes, a water reservoir, a coach house, horse stables a pond and a ‘playa’, which is a coral stone square where the laundry would be laid out to dry in the sun. It is likely that the mentioned house is a previous version of the one that occupies the spot today.

Who lived there

The building was one of many owned by the protestant family Winkel, who were originally from Otrobanda. Aura Winkel was the last person from the family to occupy this house. Her grandparents, ‘Papa Chan’ and ‘Ma Eni’ lived with their 11 children in the mansion next door, which was demolished in the 1960s to make space for the access road to the Juliana bridge. This neo-classical house with pilasters and a little watch tower was originally built with the floorplan of a traditional plantation house, although no longer recognizable as such. The family Winkel painted all their properties oxblood red, supposedly as one of the forefathers once won the lottery with a red or pink lottery ticket.

The restoration

The Curaçao Heritage Foundation took over the care of this building in 1991. The house was restored as well as the additional buildings on the property. Old pictures of the interior reveal traditional high-end living. Decorative woodwork adorns the patio below as well as one of the living spaces upstairs. The house was furnished with valuable Curaçao antiques.

Since its restoration the building has hosted a variety of ventures, from a restaurant to a night club and from plain offices to an art gallery. Famous tenants have included Area 1850, Club Bermuda and in one of the outbuildings the first TuTuTango. The former living quarters of Manita Winkel on the top two floors are quiet today, waiting patiently for the next chapter in their history to unfold. Who will fall in love with it and what activities will they develop here? The story of our heritage remains in constant motion.