History thesis

2014 Architectural History Thesis Zhuoyue Ma

[INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF DUTCH ARCHITECTURE IN 20TH CENTURY] FOREIGN INFLUENCE ON Dutch architecture and Dutch impacts of architecture at an international level

Type: Title:

History Thesis

International Aspects of Dutch Architecture in 20th century --

Foreign influences on Dutch architecture and Dutch impacts

of architecture at an international level

Author: Zhuoyue Ma

Summary:

The thesis is tracing the international aspects of the Dutch architecture in 20th

century, mainly focus on the relationship between Dutch architects or other figures and the international architectural movements.

Keywords: International, Berlage, Dutch architecture, modernism, Belage, De Stijl,

Mentor:

CIAM, Team 10, Koolhaas

Cor Wagenaar

Faculty: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

Department: Architecture

Programme/Section/Other: Architectural History Thesis Hand-in date: 2014-10-21 Language: English

Study number: 4294491

Submitter email: Z.Ma-1@student.tudelft.nl

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Foreword As an international student in TU Delft, I am not so familiar with Dutch

Architecture before I came here, but I was so impressed by the international atmosphere in the faculty of architecture which I never met anywhere else, and I can also find the crossing points of the traditional Dutch architecture and

international style everywhere in the country, the Dutch culture is open enough to embrace the world. By making this thesis, I intend to discover the details of how

Dutch architecture interact with the world, and even become a phenomenon which has called on the world's attention.

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Content

Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------04

Chapter 1--------------------------------------------------------------------05 H.P Berlage and French RationalismBerlage Chapter 2--------------------------------------------------------------------10 De Stijl and Wrightian influence Chapter 3--------------------------------------------------------------------16 The Dutch relations of CIAM and Team 10 Chapter 4--------------------------------------------------------------------21 The push hands by official institutes and Foreign architects in the Netherlands

Chapter 5--------------------------------------------------------------------30 Dutch contemporary architecture and its international performance Summary--------------------------------------------------------------------36

Literature list---------------------------------------------------------------38

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Introduction Since 1990s in last century, architectural production of the Netherlands enjoys a worldwide interest. Especially the work made by post-OMA young offices is welcomed as a wave of Dutch or even Super-Dutch-pragmatism, but if we retrospect Dutch architectural history of the last century, or even more to 17th, the ‘Golden age’, we will find, in fact, Dutch architecture is always acting internationally. The thesis will focus on tracing the development of Dutch Architecture in 20th century and find out the interactions between Dutch architecture and foreign architecture in a detailed way. From Berlage to Koolhass, from the beginning of the modernism to the “Super Dutch” and the later development afterwards.

The thesis comprises 5 chapters, basically organized in the order of time, At the end of 19th ,Berlage redeveloped and revised French Architect Duc’s theory and began Dutch modern architecture. From1910, Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous American architect, had a profound influence on Dutch Architecture, especially the De Stijl and the Amsterdam School. Afterwards, during 1928 to 1959, CIAM was responsible for a series of events and congresses arranged around the world by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of spreading the principles of the Modern Movement focusing in all the main domains of architecture. Berlage attended the first meeting and later Aldo van Eyck and Jacob Bakema.

In 1959, CIAM XI, Otterlo, the Netherlands, organized dissolution of CIAM by Team 10, Bakema and Aldo van Eyck are key roles, the Dutch Structuralism was popular by the Forum. After 1980s, Rotterdam Arts Council held Architecture International of Rotterdam to call on more interactions between Ductch architecture and foreign architecture. It has fast and effective result, many foreign architects like Kiso Kuokawa, Bolles&Wilson, Renzo Piano, Aldo Rossi, Bernard Tschumi also began their projects in Netherlands. After 1990s, Rem Koolhaas, for his theory focus on many Metropolitan issues, which are really international and responding to problems bravely, has updated the global architectural theory to some extent. OMA, his office is really productive these years, they are exploring their theory by practice, their works are standing all over the world.

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Chapter 1 H.P Berlage and French Rationalism

H.P Berlage and Viollet-le-Duc H.P Berlage (1856-1934) Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Hermann Muthesius 1, Henry Van de Velde 2 and Otto Wagner 3 are the founders of modern architecture in Europe. Berlage is the most widely available within the Dutch architects, architectural history, and it is generally accepted that from Berlage modern architecture begins. A book of some interest on architecture cannot let him go unmentioned. Berlage therefore has a huge bibliography that goes beyond the Dutch borders. The importance of Berlage is not only to read the vast amount of literature, additionally Berlage was the one whose lectures, books and articles are viewing the world in sin and thus introduced many foreign architects and theorists in the Netherlands, such as the American Frank Lloyd Wright 4. 5 Berlage studied in Zurich in the late Seventies and did not return to Holland until after 1881,his studies also had brought him into contact with late followers of Gottfried Semper 6, while, after his return to Holland, he was associated with P.J.H. Cuypers 7, an admirer and - to some extent-follower of Viollet-le-Duc 8. From these two sources, Berlage seems to have acquired the strain of careful mid-nineteenth Rationalism 9 that runs through his work and writings.

“Viollet-le-Duc is considered by many to be the first theorist of modern architecture. Sir John Summerson 10 wrote that "there have been two supremely eminent theorists in the history of European architecture - Leon Battista Alberti 11 and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc." His architectural theory was largely based on finding the ideal forms for specific materials, and using these forms to create buildings.

1

Hermann Muthesius: 1861 –1927, German architect, author and diplomat

2

Henry Van de Velde: 1863-1957, Belgian painter, architect and interior designer

3

Otto Wagner: 1841-1918, Austrian architect and urban planner

4

Frank Lloyd Wright: 1867-1959 ,American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator

5

http://www.nai.nl/

6

Gottfried Semper: 1803-1879, German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture

7

P.J.H. Cuypers: 1827-1921, Dutch architect

8

Viollet-le-Duc: 1814-1879, French architect and theorist

9

Rationalism

10

Sir John Summerson: 1904-1992, one of the leading British architectural historians of the

20th century 11

Leon Battista Alberti: 1404-1472, Italian humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest,

linguist, philosopher and cryptographer 5

His writings centered on the idea that materials should be used 'honestly'. He believed that the outward appearance of a building should reflect the rational construction of the building” 12

H.P.H Berlage

Viollet-le-Duc

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

source, http://en.wikipedia.org/

Cuypers had first met Viollet-le-Duc in Paris in the mid-1850s and subsequently invited him to Roermond in the province of Limburg to advice on the restoration of the minister. In his own work, Cuypers combined Viollet-le-Duc’s admiration for the rationalism of Gothic structure with the more dogmatic ethical imperatives of the English Gothic revival to create an eclectic manner of design that he proposed as a national style. This notion of a normative, national style was a central element in the various Gothic revivals throughout Europe and was endorsed by the Dutch government when it commissioned Cuypers to design two of the most conspicuous public buildings in Amsterdam: the Central Station(1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum(1881–1889).

By working with Cuypers, Berlage began to know Duc’s thoughts since early 1880s.

He criticize Duc’s rationalism on one hand, and also revised it on the other hand, he reorganized every architectural factors, set the analysis of structure as a starting point, make true expression of the material, bared the functional components, and all the factors produced new effects.

“By the end of the 1880s, Berlage was convinced of the need for what he subsequently called a “practical aesthetics,” to be based on architectural practice and the demands of the urban context rather than academic speculation. This was to be the mission that dominated his activity as both designer and writer in the second main phase of his working life, which ran from around 1890 to the completion and reception of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1903. In formulating his ”practical aesthetics” during the 1890s and around the turn of the

12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Viollet-le-Duc 6

century, Berlage established a set of theoretical premises to which he referred again and again in many texts published in the first two decades of the new century, most notably ‘Thoughts on Style in Architecture, 1886-1909’, ‘The Foundations and Development of Architecture’, and the collection of essays published as ‘Studies over bouwkunst, stijl en samenleving’.” 13

“The underpinning of this ”practical aesthetics” a rationalist theory of structure, derives ultimately from Viollet-le-Duc and transmitted, slightly paradoxically, via P.J.H Cuypers. Cuypers was deeply influenced by Viollet-le Duc, and the many Catholic churches that he built throughout Holland after the restoration of the Roman Catholic faith in 1853 were firmly grounded on the insights enshrined in Viollet-le-Duc’s Dictionnaire raisonne de larchitecture francaise du XI au XVI siecle, published in Paris between 1854 and 1868. Cuypers had been condemned in the mid-1880s as ultra conservative by the radicals in the Maatschappij tot Bevordering derBouwkunst, a prominent association of Dutch architects. This view was shared by Berlage, who had at that point favored the Neo-renaissance 14style. This assessment was revised toward the end of the decade, however, by a group of Cuyperss own students, including J. L. M. Lauweriks(1864-1932), K. P. C. de Bazel(1869-1923), and H. J. M. Walenkamp(1871-1933), who realized that the theories of proportion and rational construction proposed by Viollet-le-Duc endorsed by Cuypers did not necessarily lead to solutions that looked like French models from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.” 15 Amsterdam Exchange The most influential masterpiece of Berlage is Stock Exchange in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Exchange [Beurs van Berlage] is widely considered to mark the start of modern rational architecture in the Netherlands.

“The influence from Semper and Viollet-le-Duc is mainly evident in the use of clear-cut geometrical shapes and in the detailing which explicitly discloses the underlying structure. These structures are not based on the latest engineering advances and calculation methods. Berlage relied on craft building methods. The Exchange is a surprising building. Its stern, massive exterior and smooth external detailing contrast sharply with the light interior, full of decorative and colorful details. Berlage himself referred to his design principles in this connection as

13

Iain Boyd Whyte, Introduction of Thoughts on Style,1886-1909, Getty Center for the History

of Art and the Humanities, 1996 14

Neo-renaissance is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century

architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian (see Greek Revival) nor Gothic (see Gothic Revival) but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes.

15

Iain Boyd Whyte, Introduction of Thoughts on Style,1886-1909, Getty Center for the History

of Art and the Humanities, 1996 7

'unity in diversity'.’’ 16

The Exchange was built on a filled-in section of the Damrak canal situated between Central Station and Dam Square in the Amsterdam city centre. The building volume is principally a massive rectangular block with smooth, brick-built facades, which is sensitively harmonized with the neighboring buildings on either side. The program of the stock exchange is very complex. The main part are 3 halls, commodities exchange hall, grain exchange hall and stock exchange hall. In addition, there are some office area, etiquette buildings, halls and informal meetings space, even service area and administrators housing. Berlage skillfully integrated a variety of space in one building. The hall located in the centre of the building, surrounded by other service space which are facing Damrak Street, three horizontal rows of small windows gives a remarkable feature to the facades. At 17th century, Hendrick de Keyser 17 designed the first exchange, the courtyard and arcades made it part of the public area. In the mid-19th century. Jan David Zoeher designed the second exchange, together with the royal palace, they defined a monumental feature of the Dam square. Different from the two, the design of Berlage is a block embedded into the urban fabric, with one facade facing the street, one facing the square.

The Amsterdam Exchange,

source: http://www.beursvanberlage.nl/

The Amsterdam Exchange has a dimensional scheme based on systematic use of the Egyptian Triangle (base: height = 4:5). This proportional system was employed for aesthetic reasons in the design of the pyramids. Its use was championed in Berlage's time by Viollet-le-Duc. The modular dimension on which the building is constructed is derived from the Waal brick size (11.2x6.25 cm, horizontal joint thickness 1 cm, vertical joint thickness 0.7 cm). The supporting structure of the Exchange building consists chiefly of load-bearing brick walls which simultaneously function as spatial partitions. On the long sides of the halls, the principal direction of the structure is parallel to the Damrak. At the ends and in the central zone between the exchange halls, the principal direction is rotated. This 16

Leen van Duin, Barbieri, S.Umberto , A hundred years of Dutch architecture 1901-2000, 2003

17

Hendrick de Keyser，1565-1621，Dutch sculptor and architect 8

arrangement makes the building stable. The glazed roofs have steel supporting structures which rest on the surrounding brick walls. The entire volume constitutes of 3 parts, the front, the back and a lateral insertion, however, it showed some ambiguity about typology, which will widen the range of forms it will choose from. The relationship between the tower and the plaza façade, the proportions of every facades, the slightly designed details of stones piling and brick roof, or usages of different principles of different structures and materials, all of these which can be called artistic design lead to a romantic understanding .

At the same time, the precisely process of urban context, typology and function can be understood in a Rationalistic way. Which belongs to the term ”practical aesthetics”.

In a conclusion, the reference from Duc is only the starting point of the analysis, here Berlage turn the true expression of material to the true expression of the structure and components, and developed the unique theory “practical aesthetics”， which was more adapted to the new development of the world. The bare of the functional elements is an obviously innovation, and therefore generate a novel decorative effects. Such as in the Stock Exchange in Amsterdam, the downspouts which are embedded in the brick and reinforced by the stone attachments, the roof structure fixed by rivets, the beams and other supports went through the hall rhythmically. The ration of all the construction and structure represented the rationalism by Duc on a deeper level.

“H.P. Berlage's design for the Exchange in Amsterdam (1884-1903) represented a dramatic break with late-19th century approaches to architectural design. Adolf Behne17 identified Berlage, along with Otto Wagner and Alfred Messel 18, as the pioneer who opened the way from an academic and eclectic tradition to a new, 20th-century architecture.^ The transformation took place over a period of ten years. The design process of the Exchange reflects both the end of 19th-century academism and the beginning of 20th-century modern architecture.”

18

Alfred Messel 1853-1909 one of the most well-known German architects at the turning

point to the 20th century, creating a new style for buildings which bridged the transition from historicism to modernism.

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Chapter 2 De Stijl and Wrightian influence

De Stijl Since the Netherlands is one of the earliest country which established the capitalist political system and economic system, industrialization has a broad and deep impact for art and design, and because the Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, avant-garde art, architecture and design had space for development, not as suffered by war as in France and Germany. It provided shelters for a lot of avant-garde artists who came to the Netherlands, which promoted the development of Dutch modern design, the most significant is around the "De Stijl "progress.

In 1917, Van Doesburg 19 founded the magazine "De Stijl" in Amsterdam, and in the next year a loose organization of modern art formed around the magazine, the group of “De Stijl� then was named, "De Stijl" artists advocated the use of pure geometric abstraction to express the purely spiritual activities, trying to build a picture with a geometric shape, abstract lines in order and colors, they laid the theoretical foundation of geometric abstract art, and applied to creative practice them.

"De Stijl" was a loose association consisting of painters, architects and designers, not like "Cubism" 20, "Futurism 21", and "Surrealism 22" which have a complete organization and a clear program, also unlike the "Bauhaus 23" with schools and 19

Van Doesburg 1883-1931, a Dutch artist, who practised painting, writing, poetry and

architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl.

20

Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Georges Braque

and Pablo Picasso, joined by several other artists that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. Cubism has been considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century.

21

Futurism (Italian: Futurismo) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in

the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the aeroplane and the industrial city.

22

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its

visual artworks and writings. The aim was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality."

23

Staatliches Bauhaus, commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was an art school in Germany

that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicised and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.

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institutions as a base to expand the activities, "De Stijl" artists and designers were not closely related, and rarely met, the only time they organized the exhibition was held in Paris in 1923.

In the early 1920s, Van Doesburg developed close relationship with the avant-garde artists from other European countries, for instance, the artist of Russian Cubism El Lissitzky(1890-1941) and the avant-garde artist Laszlo Moholy Nagy(1895-1946) from Hungary, he published an article specially for the suprematism and EL Lissitzky.

In 1922, Van Doesburg visited to Weimar Bauhaus, it was crucial for the dissemination of his ideas ,there he met the young architect Cornelis van Eesteren(1897-1988)，it was also significant, particularly in his ideas regarding axonometry.

“In 1923 van Doesburg organized an exhibition at Léonce Rosenberg’s Galerie de l’Effort Moderne in Paris of Les Architectes du groupe De Stijl; the periodical published the accompanying manifesto ‘Vers une construction collective’. The show prompted an intensive debate on De stijl in Parisian architectural circles.

Some months later various objects were displayed at a group exhibition at the Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, which were the work of previous and current contributors to the periodical. This was the only time in van Doesburg’s lifetime that special issues of such French periodicals as L’Architecture vivante and L’Art et l’architecture aujourd’hui were devoted to De stijl.” 24

From then on,“De Stijl”was getting more and more internationally influential. This exhibition indeed influenced Le Cobusier who was still unknown at that time.

Attending exhibition of “ De Stijl”, he wore a pair of dirty shoes stained with dirt from construction, at that time he was busy at the construction of the villa La Roche 25, After the exhibition, he made the color scheme immediately for the interior of the villa. In the built condition, much of the interior was dealt with the tactics from “De stijl”, which Cobusier learnt from the exhibition.

24

http://www.moma.org/collection/details.php?theme_id=10199

25

Villa La Roche, also Maison La Roche, is a house in Paris, designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre

Jeanneret in 1923–1925. It was designed for Raoul La Roche, a Swiss banker and collector of avant-garde art. Villa La Roche now houses the Fondation Le Corbusier.

11

Interior of Villa La Roch

Source: © Rory Hyde - http://www.flickr.com/photos/roryrory/

Although most of the activities generated by “De Stijl” were related to Mondrian unparalleled abstract paintings and avant-garde theory by Van Doesburg, but as an integrated arts groups, the contribution from the architects didn’t be ignored, but getting more and more attention over time. The most noticeable factors affected the architects should be H.P. Berlage and Frank Lloyd Wright. Berlage, who called on the architecture returning back to the basic components, strengthened the creation of space, and the proportion of the architectural elements, influenced the earliest “De Stijls”, J.J.P. Oud 26 was his good friend, Van Doesburg once invited him into “De Stijl”, but failed.

The introduction of Frank Lloyd Wright by the Dutch “It was Berlage who first drew the attention of “the young men of Holland” to Frank Lloyd Wright. Upon seeing Wasmuth’s sumptuous 1910 folio of Wright’s work, Berlage took up William Purcell 27’s 1906 invitation to visit Chicago as part of a lecture tour of the U.S.A. Returning to Holland in mid-December 1911 he described his impression of the New World, first to a capacity audience at a public lecture in Amsterdam on 30 January 1912. His illustrated talk sparked a great deal of interest in Wright, shared by widely diverse journals. In 1913 Berlage published Recollections of an American Journey, quoting at length from Wright’s essay in the 1910 Wasmuth folios and publishing photographs of his buildings. He generously pronounced Wright a master “whose equal is yet to be found in Europe.” That was significant because Berlage was regarded at that time as an architectural critic second to none in Europe. In the Netherlands, both the Amsterdam School and De 26

J.J.P. Oud 1890-1963 a Dutch architect Whose fame began as a follower of the De Stijl

movement.

27

William Purcell 1880-1965, a Prairie School architect in the Midwestern United States 12

Stijl were early receptors, critical repositories and willing dispensers of Wrightian form and theory.” 28

“The young architects of the Amsterdam School (most major figures were under 40 at the end of the Great War) were deeply impressed by Wright and poetically and emotionally interpreted his work. In November 1921 an issue of Wendingen 29 was devoted to him, with a sympathetic, objective introductory essay by Berlage."

The edition was entirely in Dutch and its impact would have been almost limited to Holland.” 30

“The Wright-smitten Wijdeveld(1885-1987) was to open further vistas: in 1925, seven consecutive Wendingen numbers, later reissued as a bound omnibus, contained essays in English, French and German about Wright by Berlage (a translation of the 1921 piece), Oud, Mendelsohn 31 , Lewis Mumford 32 , Louis Sullivan, 33 Rob Mallet-Stevens 34 and Wright himself, all illustrated with Wright-supplied drawings and photographs. That more effectively revived Wright’s influence in Holland than the 1931 Amsterdam show of his work(also arranged by Wijdeveld). Catherine Bauer cited an unnamed Dutch architect: “ It was very difficult to break away from Wright and work out his premises to our own conclusions. For a while it looked as if the whole country were going American.” 35

Wrightian Influence on De Stijl arcitects In Wright’s houses built in the suburbs, roof overhangs, wide balcony, and the partitions limiting space were presented for aesthetics, the crossings between the horizontal elements (roof, canopy) and the vertical element (walls, pilasters) provided references for “De Stijl” architects , of course, they were concerned more than that, in their views, if they seek to achieve "unity of the inner and outer space," the “organic space” by Wright is a practical reference.

28

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood, 1996, Page 8

29

Wendingen Wendingen (Dutch:Inversions / Upheaval) was an art magazine that appeared

from 1918 to 1932. It was a monthly publication aimed at architects and interior designers 30

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood,1996, Page 9

31

Erich Mendelsohn 1887-1953 Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist

architecture in the 1920s.

32

Lewis Mumford 1895-1990 American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and

literary critic 33

Louis Sullivan 1856-1924， American architect, and has been called the "father of

skyscrapers" and "father of modernism".

34

Rob Mallet-Stevens 1886-1945，French architect and designer. Along with Le Corbusier he is

widely regarded as the most influential figure in French architecture in the period between the two World Wars.

35

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood,1996, Page 9 13

“The evanescent architect Robert van 't Hoff 36 —"systematic, disciplined and business-like", a perfectionist espousing ideals of socially responsible building and the integrity of architecture and community—was a key figure. Before 1931, he was the only Dutch architect to have met Wright. His two villas at Huis ter Heide, each in its distinctive way, were Europe's first built copies of Wright's work.

During his subsequent eighteen months with De Stijl van't Hoff shared the documents Wright had given him at their Oak Park meeting.” 37

Villa Henry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_van_'t_Hoff

Henry House by van ‘t Hoff, perhaps can be described as the first modern building.

It was constructed in concrete frame structure which was rare at that time, roof and corridors overhangs widely. The plan is square, with the central part higher, surrounded by a loggia and corridors instead of gables and balconies. The facades strengthen horizontal elements. On the ground floor of the building, half of the south-facing area is used as an open lobby, with sunshine coming from three sides, where is very bright. The mullions dividing the long horizontal windows are the only vertical elements on the façade, to make a contrast with the horizontal elements. The design techniques of Henry house are quite similar with works by Wright in Chicago, which can be seen in its cornice, grouped windows, body mass in the corner. Van 't Hoff appreciated the use of concrete in a chapel by Wright, and also its consistent logic, the integration with the surrounding environment, etc., but he questioned of the hidden brick structure of the Larkin Building. So in his later design, a platoon residential building, he used a very similar language in Larkin building, but the main difference is the usage of concrete as the facial material.

36

Robert van ’t Hoff 1887-1979，a Dutch architect and furniture designer. His Villa Henny,

designed in 1914, was one of the earliest modernist houses and one of the first to be built out of reinforced concrete. From 1917 he was an influential member of the De Stijl movement.

37

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood, 1996, Page 11 14

“J.J.P. Oud, third of the De Stijl architects, was determined to produce an architecture that exploited new construction and materials, based on present needs and possibilities—in fact, an architecture like Wright’s. He heard about the American from Berlage, but was more interested in his technology than in philosophy or aesthetics. None of Oud’s early work showed that affinity for Wright and his one-man practice produced little until 1915-16, when he built the conservative Leiderdorp housing estate with W.M, Dudok 38. Then in 1917 he designed a warehouse and a factory that both exuded Wrightian elements, as well as some reinforced concrete semi-detached workers’ houses (a charmless parody of Wright’s pre-1910 work). None was built. The Dutch building industry developed worlable concrete technology after 1920 and Oud first used it was for workers’ houses at Hoek van Holland four years later. Their design was in every apparent way dissociated from both De Stijl and Wright. Yet of all De Stijl architects, Oud broadcast Wright most widely in Europe.” 39

“A few of Holland’s younger architects attempted to absorb Wright’s ideas into their work but his holistic philosophy eluded most. The more immature designers seized upon his forms as a fashion, to just as readily reject them when a newer thing caught their eye. One can stroll through any Dutch town and lose count of the middle-class houses that owe something, whether in form or detail, to Wright.

The deeper, lasting effects of his philosophy, perceptible in many of the characteristics of European Modernism were filtered, refocused and applied after about 1922. Those architects who had identified Wright’s ideas by the mid-1920s had already begun to synthesize them with other notions.” 40

38

W.M, Dudok 1884-1974，Dutch modernist architect.

39

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood, 1996, Page 12

40

Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood, 1996, Page 12 15

Chapter 3 The Dutch relations of CIAM and Team 10

CIAM “The Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne – CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture) was an organization founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, responsible for a series of events and congresses arranged across Europe by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of spreading the principles of the Modern Movement focusing in all the main domains of architecture (such as landscape, urbanism, industrial design, and many others). The organization was hugely influential. It was not only engaged in formalizing the architectural principles of the Modern Movement, but also saw architecture as an economic and political tool that could be used to improve the world through the design of buildings and through urban planning. As CIAM members traveled worldwide after the war, many of its ideas spread outside Europe, notably to the USA. The CIAM organization disbanded in 1959 as the views of the members diverged. Le Corbusier had left in 1955, objecting to the increasing use of English during meetings.” 41

For a reform of CIAM, the group Team 10 was active from 1953 onwards, and two different movements emerged from it: the New Brutalism of the English members (Alison and Peter Smithson 42) and the Structuralism 43 of the Dutch members (Aldo van Eyck 44 and Jacob B. Bakema 45).

Berlage in CIAM1 “In the CIAM1 held at La Sarraz, Switzerland, the Netherlands was represented by H. P. Berlage (1856-1934), and Gerrit Rietveld 46 (1888-1964), '' who was by this

41

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congr%C3%A8s_International_d'Architecture_Moderne

42

Alison and Peter Smithson， Alison Smithson 1928-1993，Alison Smithson 1923-2003, British

architects, they together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism 43

Structuralism, as a movement in architecture and urban planning evolved around the

middle of the 20th century, It was a reaction to CIAM-Functionalism which had led to a lifeless expression of urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.

44

Aldo van Eyck 1918-1999, an architect from the Netherlands. He was one of the most

influential protagonists of the architectural movement Structuralism.

45

Jacob B. Bakema 1914-1981, a Dutch modernist architect, notable for design of public

housing and involvement in the reconstruction of Rotterdam after the Second World War. 46

Gerrit Rietveld 1988-1964, a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal

members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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time a member of De Stijl and also an active socialist. Most of the La Sarraz Congress consisted of debates over the work program drawn up for the event by Le Corbusier, discussed below, but one formal lecture was given by Berlage.

Auguste Perret 47, Tony Garnier 48, Kart Moser 49, and Berlage had all been invited “from the oder generation”,but only Berlage attended and spoke at La Sarraz.” 50

“It was Berlage who arguably had the more significant, though largely unacknowledged, influence on the urbanistic preoccupations of CIAM, even though he didn’t participate actively in the discussions at La Sarraz. Though his urbanistic work was perhaps less conceptually significant than Garnier’s, he had much greater success in actually implementing his ideas. His town planning work in Amsterdam was seminal for a generation of Dutch architects, from Michel de Klerk 51 and the other architects of the Amsterdam School to advocates of functionalist “Nieuwe Bouwen 52” like Stam, who later rejected this approach.

Berlage’s 1917 plan for Amsterdam South had demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale urban design sponsored by a labor-oriented city government and based on improved working-class housing. It had served as a model for socialist advocates of housing and town planning in Berlin such as Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner. Even though Berlage’s street-oriented, perimeter block planning would be rejected by CIAM, the basic premised of the Amsterdam plan, like those of Garnier's Cité Industrielle, remained the point of reference for the ClAM approach to urbanism.” 53 “The importance of Berlage's ideas and example were seldom mentioned in later ClAM deliberations, just as the proponents of divergent other approaches to modern architecture were eventually excluded or chose, like Mendelsohn, not to be part of ClAM. Nevertheless, the Amsterdam example of successful common efforts between progressive architects and a municipal administration committed to improving everyday living conditions was one backdrop against which ClAM began its discourse on urbanism.

47

Auguste Perret 1874-1954, French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced

concrete construction 48

Tony Garnier 1869-1948, was French noted architect and city planner.

49

Kart Moser 1860-1936, an architect from Switzerland

50

Mumford, Eric, The CIAM discourse on urbanism, 1928-1960, MIT Press,2000, Page 17

51

Michel de Klerk 1884-1923, He was one of the founding architects of the movement Amsterdam School.

52

Modern Architecture

53

Mumford, Eric, The CIAM discourse on urbanism, 1928-1960, MIT Press,2000, Page 18 17

H.P. Berlage Plan Zuid 1915

source, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Zuid

On the second day, the discussion was on "General Economy," led by Schmidt 54, and "Urbanism," which was to have been led by Oud, who was replaced by Berlage, addressing the sixth questions of Le Corbusier's "Work Program." gave a speech on Thursday entitled "Der Staat und der Widerstreit in der modernen Architeldur" (The state and its opposition in modern architecture). Berlage held up Holland as an exception to the usual hostility of governments to this kind of avant-garde architecture. He stated that in Holland, opposition between architecture and the state no longer existed, because the state was now under the control of the workers." Despite this political stance. Berlage did not embrace the "Nieuwe Bouwen” of ClAM.” 55

Then in the following meetings, the CIAM was still dominated by Le Cobusier, the various architectural issues then later urban planning issues were discussed, such as “The Functional City” in 1933, Moscow. And later as CIAM members traveled worldwide after the war, many of its ideas spread outside Europe, notably to the USA. The city planning ideas were adopted in the rebuilding of Europe following World War II. Van Eyck and Bakema in Team 10 In 1953, CIAM 9 was held in Aix, France. the theme of human habitation. Although the meeting had produced a report, but there was still no clear concept. At that time the Dutch team and Morocco team consider to generate new ideas on an issue of human habitation, and hoped to hold several meetings. In January 1954 in the meeting in Doorn of the Netherlands, several architects studied the results of nine meetings with the encouragement of ClAM committee, and prepared a report for the CIAM10, which was called “THE DOORN MANIFESTO”, it suggested that to 54

Hans Schmidt, 1893-1972, a Swiss architect

55

Mumford, Eric, The CIAM discourse on urbanism, 1928-1960, MIT Press,2000, Page 24 18

study human habitations, different characteristics in accordance with the cities, towns, villages and house should be researched. Six members signed on the manifesto, who were later the founder members of Team 10. The Dutch architects Aldo van Eyck and Jaap Bakema were included.

“At the last CIAM congress (1959) Aldo van Eyck presented his ‘Otterlo Circles’, a diagram visualizing his syncretic approach to design, bringing together the classical, modern and vernacular traditions in architecture. Other key terms and evocative mottos include the shift from ‘space and time’ to ‘place and occasion’, ‘vers une casbah organisée’, the greater reality of the doorstep, the in-between realm, twin phenomena, reciprocity and relativity. “ 56

The Otterlo Circles

source, http://www.team10online.org/

“Bakema played an important part in the Rotterdam 'Opbouw' group, which, together with the Amsterdam group 'de 8', made up the Dutch delegation of CIAM. In 1946 Bakema was invited to a CIAM congress for the first time. He became the secretary of CIAM in 1955 and went on to prepare the tenth CIAM congress with the other future Team 10 members, and then acted as coordinator at the last congress in Otterlo. After CIAM was disbanded, Bakema played a prominent part in Team 10, both as an energizing force and a binding figure who kept the group together. He was the only participant to attend all of the Team 10 meetings, even in the late 1970s when his health was deteriorating. As a result of his death, gatherings referred to as ‘Team 10 meetings’ were no longer held. Nonetheless, members of the group continued to maintain individual contacts, both personally and within organized forms of collaboration and assembly, particularly education.

The use of these various channels enabled Team 10’s body of ideas to be passed on and assimilated by new generations.” 57

56

http://www.team10online.org/

57

http://www.team10online.org/ 19

Transitional Elements, sketch by Bakema 1961 Source: http://www.team10online.org/

20

Chapter 4 The push hands by official institutes And Foreign architects in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Council for Art & Culture By the end of 1970s, obviously, as the whole country emphasized the urban renaissance, in architectural domain, a new wave raised, Rotterdam art council was the first to act, its main idea was to facilitate face-to-face interaction between Dutch architects, critics and international pioneers, in this way, the isolated state of Dutch architecture ended. At the very beginning, they invited internationally renowned critics like Stanislaws Von Moos 58 and Francesco dal Co 59 to comment on Rotterdam.

Not long after, in 1982, the council organized the 1st ‘Architecture international of Rotterdam, AIR. Foreign architects, for instance, J.P.Kleihues 60 , O.M.Ungers 61 , Derek Wallcer 62, Aldo Rossi 63 are invited to depict a blueprint for Rotterdam Zuid.

It was a heartland calling for gentrification at the left bank of River Maas, although it was still undertaking diverse port activities, it was obvious that as the harbor expanded, these activities will have to transfer to other space. The initial(original) idea of AIR didn’t realize at all, but it had profound influence on the later planning of the area. Despite the exploitation, an ideal opportunity was emerging in the view of Rotterdam, for both the public and Architects, they knew the ideas of the invited architects, which can enlighten them in the particular period of Holland.

The next AIR was held in Japan and Libya, engaging in the exhibitions and discussions of the ATR, the Dutch got acquainted with Japanese architects and Spanish architects. In the next several forums, the Rotterdam Council for Art & Culture set a vision of the future, proposed some emerging problems but still not paid attention by the government. During the AIR in 1988, which was named as “city as a stage’ the public space was the focus to be discussed, then in 1993, AIR in Alexander involved the question of how to handle the most peripheral cities and how to issue a 1960 city branch. The Unprecedented success of the AIR was attributed to providing a chance discussing specific issues at a high level, at the 58

Stanislaws Von Moos, 1940-

59

Francesco dal Co ,1945-

60

J.P.Kleihues 1933-2004, an German architect

61

O.M.Ungers 1926-2007, a German architect and architectural theorist

62

Derek Wallcer 1929-

63

Aldo Rossi 1931-1997, an Italian architect and designer who accomplished the unusual feat

,a Swiss art historian and architectural theorist

,an Italian historian of architecture

, a British architect

of achieving international recognition in four distinct areas: theory, drawing, architecture and product design 21

same time, producing solutions at the design level, although the schemes were not produced for immediate realization. During the period, every interested party involved in the process launched a great debate, the developers, architects , the public and politicians. AIR inspired other cities of similar activities in other forms, although in smaller scales. Koolhaas, Wiel Arets 64 and several others all participated in one or two activities like this, debating with foreign architects.

In the 1980s of Netherlands, cities introduced foreign architects one after another launched dialogues, universities were the undertakers, they organized several great discussions during late 70s and early 80s, not long after the journals also involved. Rossi, Meier, Graves, Himmelblau, Bofill, Steven Holl, Peter Eisenman, all of them designed different scales of projects in the border of Netherlands, they themselves were also amazed about fighting alongside.

Richard Meier Since late 1980s, Meier's buildings which we call “The Whites” quietly appeared in Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, The Hague, and other various styles’ European cities, establishing appropriate relationships with the built environment, such as City Hall and Central Library, which was built since 1986 and completed at 1995. A flash of the white buildings conveys a sense of coldness and strength, but we can also see the cultural identity of the people in Netherlands and the Dutch architectural tradition of openness. The building is located at the corner of two main streets, the wedge-shaped ensemble inserts in a 275mX85m site of city center, consisting of a city library, the Council House, wedding hall, a large number of government offices, rental offices, shops and so on. How to balance the interests of multiple owners even has become one of the basis of the design. The 12-storey atrium full of sunshine is the heart of the building, the glass roof of the atrium is supported by wooden columns, and the space of large scale gives people a sense of distance. Here, officers, couples to be married, and waiters carrying trays pass by each other and since the atrium space connects the western and eastern squares, you can freely pass through, in and out. Thus, the sense of distance among passers, visitors, and civil servants no longer exists here.

“This project brought together many important administrative functions of the city as well as the Central Library. So I felt we had an obligation not only to house the functions but also to create a public space, a space that would belong to all of the people: visitors and tourists, workers, people using the library, people who had nowhere else to go. In Ulm that public space was the plaza; but in The Hague the weather is always overcast. A sunny day is a rare experience. The plaza space, which could have been the open space between the two slabs, would not have been used if we had left it open. Instead, we decided to close that space and make

64

Wiel Arets, 1955-

,a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist, industrial designer

and the Dean of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, in the United States of America.

22

the heart of the city a space that could be used all of the time, in all seasons. So the public space became the atrium. It's a space for all kinds of events. I told the mayor, if the people want to come and protest against your government, they'll be able to do it out of the rain. They can have rock concerts, they can have art exhibitions, and they do.� 65

City Hall and Central Library, Den Haag http://www.richardmeier.com/

Kisho Kurokawa 66 In1990, Kurokawa started the Van Gogh Museum Expansion Project (New Wing of the Van Gogh Museum), it was not completed until 1998. The new museum integrated into the existing environment in an exotic style, negotiating with the old museum by Gerrit Rietveld, and it was his last project, completed by his pupils after his death, expressed his characteristic use of linear and planar elements in a three dimensional design. Taking into account the overall landscape issues, Kisho Kurokawa put 60%-70% of the construction area under the ground, reducing the impact on the original building and connected with it underground. In keeping with Rietveld's ideology of abstract geometry, the architect employs square, circular, semicircular and elliptical shapes, but as opposed to Rietveld's linear geometry, the new wing uses curved lines, in order to provide a sense of new identity. The sunken garden between the old and new buildings, is an intermediary space, it combines the old and new buildings together organically, reminiscent of traditional Japanese courtyard space, the wall facing the garden leans gently outwards. Van Gogh's personal collection of Japanese ukiyoe prints are housed in a square shaped mezzanine exhibition room which has been rotated so that one corner juts out of this wall into the sunken garden. The sloping elliptical roof, curved walls and so on all reveal the traditional Japanese aesthetic 65

GA document Extra 08, Richard Meier, Japan, 1997, Page 46

66

Kisho Kurokawa 1934-2007, a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the

Metabolist Movement.

23

concepts. The distorted abstract volumes of the museum aim at creating a spatial composition that echoes the anti-Bourbaki world of the Japanese art. But the simple architectural form, cold and plain appearance, the light spatial quality and exquisite detail integrate the building into Dutch contemporary architecture in this environment.

By the Van Gogh Museum Expansion Project, Kurokawa integrated the Japanese spatial qualities into the social and cultural background of the Netherlands, it brought fresh ingredients to Dutch contemporary architecture. In the project of the Department of Economics and Management in University Utrecht by Mecanoo 67, the core of the building is three fine-designed courtyard, respectively, reveals different atmospheres, which was inspired by the Japanese garden. In the “temple” courtyard, the use of two gravel flooring, wooden wall and wood finishes, creating a quiet atmosphere. Meanwhile, the “water” courtyard also learns from Japanese style.

New wing of Van Gogh Museum Source: http://www.kisho.co.jp/

Bolles & Wilson 68 Luxor Theater is another masterpiece of Bolles & Wilson built in 1996-2001. The firm's work is perceived internationally, thanks to their ability to control the environment and vibrant design techniques. Luxor Theater is located Kop van Zuid district, used to be the city's industrial zone, re-development in 20 years made it 67

Mecanoo is an architecture firm based in Delft, The Netherlands. It was founded in 1984 by

Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer. The firm is directed by its original founder architect Francine M.J. Houben with partners Aart Fransen, Francesco Veenstra, Ellen van der Wal, Paul Ketelaars and Dick van Gameren. The firm's designs include technical, human and playful aspects.

68

Bolles+Wilson is an architecture firm established by Julia Bolles and Peter Wilson, both

Architectural Association (AA) graduates. Established in London, the firm moved to Münster after winning the design competition for the Münster City Library.

24

begin to flourish. Bolles & Wilson is very familiar with the site because one of their previous design, a traffic observation station, is right next to the Luxor Theater.

The Luxor Theater has beautiful surroundings, to its north locates Erasmusbrug (Ben van Berkel 69design), viewing from the lounge in the north side of the building, the skyline of Rotterdam appears over the Mass. The south lounge confronted with the Rhine harbor, an abandoned pier, where stand a lot of huge concrete warehouses, and at some inconspicuous place retain ship's wreckage.

Luxor Theater was designed as a surviving vessels entering the harbor. The most attractive part of the building is the interior space, stepping up along the stairs you will see stairs shuttling in the air, volume of red and white, concise and powerful, deeply influenced by De Stijl. The best of all is the process of indoor lounge, which introduced the outdoor scenery indoor, due to the integration, the gap between natural and artificial disappeared.

Luxor Theater

Source: http://www.bolles-wilson.com/flash/

Renzo Piano70 National Center for Science and Technology was built in Amsterdam during 1992-1997 designed by Piano. This is a science center, with a theme of interactive exhibition between technology and industry. U-shaped building is located above the tunnel built in 1968, and coordination in the form of a tunnel, three sides of the museum are facing the water, it is like a ship into the harbor. The most of the building is covered with copper, and gradually turns green over time; part of it is made by bricks to be in harmony with the old city. Inside the museum the atmosphere is not monumental but rather frugal and simple to emphasize the exhibits, rather than the building. Orientation in the museum is made clear by natural light penetrating the open central space. Following the example of 69

Ben van Berkel (born 1957) is a Dutch architect, working in the architectural practice

UNStudio 70

Renzo Piano, born in 1937, is an Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect.

25

American and European initiatives, there are both temporary and permanent exhibitions on communication, energy, humanity, phenomena and technology, all of which rely on interactive display techniques. The roof of the building is a large and flat terrain for Amsterdam, here is the place where people enjoy the sunshine and the views of the Old City of Amsterdam, and also to make it become an organic part of the city. The Museum not only constitute the city's landscape, but also brought a lively public space for the city. The Italian architect Piano demonstrated his interpretation of the environment and the city of Amsterdam by this work and make it a landscape.

National Center for Science and Technology Source: http://www.rpbw.com/

Aldo Rossi “The Bonnefantenmuseum, designed by Italian architect Aldo Rossi, is a splendid addition to the skyline of Maastricht. Featuring the famous Treppenstraße (monumental stairs) that leads to the exhibition rooms, its undisputed highlight is the cupola; the distinctive tower on the banks of the Maas. Rossi regarded the museum as a 'viewing factory'. The Bonnefantenmuseum is built in an E-shape, with four storeys and a separate, distinctive tower on the banks of the Maas. The main entrance is on the Avenue Céramique and there is a second entrance by the Café Ipanema. Most of the public areas are situated on the ground floor: the entrance hall, museum shop, auditorium, café and tower room. The museum galleries are higher up; collection on the first floor and temporary exhibitions on the second and third floors. At the top of the central wing is a 'print room'. The exhibition space totals over 4,000 m². The building is constructed of traditional materials, like brick, natural stone and zinc, around a skeleton of concrete and steel. Indoors, the floors are mainly made of keruing wood. However, the most natural factor of all is the daylight, as the central staircase is actually a covered 26

street, where you feel almost as if you were outdoors. On the second floor, the daylight interacts with the works of art. Walking around, the visitor goes through corridors alternately on the south and north sides of the central stairwell. The lighting effect is provided by the contrast between open and shut that dominates the building. The façades at the front and sides are shut, and the façades of the central wing, which forms the axis of the building, are open. This interplay of light and routing is emphasised by horizontal and vertical openings, which turn the visit into a 'promenade architecturale'.

For Rossi, the museum demonstrated the importance of public buildings for the identity of the city. Along with his light-hearted research into the typological foundation of this building, he gave form to the idea in some prints and the text Verlust der Mitte. Museum director Van Grevenstein responded in 1995 with an Open letter to the architect.” 71

Interior of the Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht Source: http://www.bonnefanten.nl/en/about_us/building_en_architect

Bernard Tschumi 72 Deconstructivism approach is actually a kind of "anti-form", there have been many times of "anti-form" in architectural history such as Gaudi with his "softness" vs “ hard” modern architecture; P. Behrens architecture of Expressivism is an 71

http://www.bonnefanten.nl/en/about_us/building_en_architect

72

Bernard Tschumi, born in 1944 is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated

with deconstructivism.

27

"anti-form" for modern architecture; The and also the Russian Constructivism architecture. Eisenman applied Derrida's deconstruction philosophy to architecture, leading to the formation of a new way of thinking, which is often reflected in the form of overlapping, mining, absence, juxtaposition. To achieve these "anti-form" construction high technology and strong financial background are required. In some developed countries, along with economic development, deconstruction techniques have interdependent conditions. Therefore, after deconstruction also began to take root in Netherlands.

In 1990, Tschumi designed the Glass Video Gallery for the city of Groningen which is set to hold the music festival. The sloping glass box is made of only one material: glass, including the structure the junctions are only connected with hinges.

Different from a traditional theater, the building is like a membrane surrounded by air, at night, the space is a reflector, making people hallucinate. “The video gallery was our first work to deal with the concept of the envelope. It is about the movement of the body as it travels through the exhibition space and about the enclosure, which is made entirely out of glass held by clips, including its vertical supports and horizontal beams. The resulting structure gives priority to the image. The monitors inside provide unstable facades, while the glass reflections create mirages that suggest limitless space. At night, the space becomes an ensemble of mirrors and reflections, and questions both what is real and what is virtual, and whether the envelope is an actual structure or an illusionistic spectacle. The glass video gallery proposes parallels to urban space, insofar as both contain video objects that are on display as well as objects for displaying them. These parallels extend to both the long monitor walls viewed through television dealership storefronts on the street and the sights visible in the sex-video galleries of urban red-light districts.� 73

Glass Video Gallery, Groningen source: http://www.tschumi.com/ 73

http://www.tschumi.com/ 28

Influence The foreign architects simulated Dutch architects to improve themselves, till 1980s, young architects began their challenges, and benefit a lot from the cooperation with the international architects, for instance, Siza and Tsumi. For Dutch architects, attracting prestigious foreign counterparts to their projects were something to be proud of.

Since 1980s, the interest on architecture from the public and politicians increased.

At 1990, Ministry of culture and ministry of housing planning issued a "cultural factors" policy to promote architecture. Another policy after that also involved the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transport and Public Programs Department.

Then three important new institutions have been established. Given the active construction activities in Rotterdam, the Netherlands Architecture Institute was founded here in 1989. Netherlands Architecture Foundation subsidize to activities of third party, such as social events, publishing, research, contests, and promote the establishment of important buildings in the center of cities. Berlage Institute was established in Amsterdam in 1989, then moved to Rotterdam in 2000, it has international master's program, which is to compensate for the Netherlands decline in architectural training. Generally speaking, the policy of the government create a smooth channel for architects’ career., Many firms have received benefits from these institutions.

29

Chapter 5 Dutch contemporary architecture and its international performance

The rising generation: Koolhaas and OMA When it comes to Dutch contemporary Architecture, it was Rem Koolhaas who began a sociological study of architecture and urban issues, advocating architects to be closely involved in the operation and development in the society. In the 1980s he led the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, which is known as OMA, to prove its theory system by design practice, and gradually expand the international influence of his thought, and at the same time expand the international reputation of Dutch architecture. By the early 1990s, Koolhaas guides a super discussion among the Dutch arcitects, which was a strong impetus for the prosperity of the Dutch architecture. With his influence, a new generation led a rapid growth.

In short, Koolhaas promotes the developing of Dutch architecture and world architecture on all aspects, theoretical works, design practice, education and research work. If we say that Koolhaas is the most important figure of Dutch Architecture, the OMA can be called as the incubator for the new generation.

Inventory the former employees of OMA, you can find the following names: Zaha Hadid 74, MVRDV 75, FOA 76 , Gigon & Guyer 77… all of these famous figures have been working on the top floor of this humble seven-story building located in Rotterdam, and learn from it from different aspects.

The special and keen views of the society and architecture of Koolhaas are different from the architects in the traditional sense, which is related to his experience. He worked as a journalist, then wrote screenplays at a young architectural team, at 1968 when he was 24 years old, after experiencing the " May 1968 events in France" 78 , he gave up his work to study architecture at the AA 74

Zaha Hadid Is an Iraqi-British architect. She received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in

2004—the first woman to do so—and the Stirling Prize in 2010 and 2011.

75

MVRDV is a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based architecture and urban design practice founded

in 1993.

76

FOA Foreign Office Architects, was an internationally acclaimed architectural design studio headed by former husband and wife team Farshid Moussavi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo. The London based studio, which was established in 1993 77 Gigon & Guyer, Annette Gigon / Mike Guyer Architects is an architectural office based in Zurich, Switzerland 78

The May 1968 events in France were a volatile period of civil unrest punctuated by 30

school, beginning his career of architecture. When studying in London, Koolhaas completed two theoretical architectural works: 1970's " the Berlin Wall as architecture" and “Exodus, or the voluntary prisoners of architecture” in 1972. In the two projects, he used the method of journalist and writing screenplays to criticize the artificial objects in modern society, the starting point was completely detached from traditional aesthetic and technical point of viewing architecture.

Followed in 1972, by further studies with O. Mathias Ungers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, followed by studies at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City, Koolhaas set up his research on the Metropolitan of New York, the result of his research was “Delirious New York” This is one of most influential architectural books in late 20th century, foreshadowed the social change in the next 20 years. In this book, Koolhaas designed a series of fictional "story", to describe a Metropolitan whose symbol was congestion and personal hedonism by Surrealism, and praised the non-utopian modernity of the metropolitan and a culture of anxiety, excitability about the instability and congestion of functions, advocating the architects to participate into the operation and development of the society.

“Berlin Wall as architecture”

Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York Thames & Hudson, 1978 (original)

source: http://socks-studio.com/2011/03/19/exodus-or-the-voluntary-prisoners-of-architecture/ source: http://www.oma.eu/publications/delirious-new-york/

In 1975, Koolhaas established the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) with Elia and Zoe Zenghelis 79, and Madelon Vriesendorp 80, attempting to prove their theory prototype by the architectural practice, to explore new ideas of architecture in current cultural condition. in the early 1980s, there were still demonstrations and massive general strikes as well as the occupation of universities and factories across France.

79

Elia and Zoe Zenghelis, born in 1937, is a Greek architect and teacher

80

Madelon Vriesendorp, born in 1945, is a Dutch artist best known as one of the co-founders

of the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in the early 1970s 31

projects getting inspiration from the traditional modernist architecture items, such as Amsterdam's IJ Riverfront Plaza residential complex building, but Koolhaas did not want to go along the way which has been paved by this classic doctrine ahead, so these derived architectural practice were not included into the OMA's portfolio. In this phase, OMA has begun to shift the focus to the undefined programs and the absorption of city’s dynamic energy, they tried to promote its theoretical ideas by practice, so participated in various international competitions of public buildings. Although these innovative avant-garde works mostly failed to be realized for various reasons, through this process, the practice by OMA was getting more and more powerful and influential.

JUSSIEU - TWO LIBRARIES, FRANCE, PARIS, 1992

Source: http://www.oma.eu/home

In 1990, Koolhaas metaphor the new modernism as a woman fashionable attire at a colloquium of Delft University of Technology, and questioned how modern the Dutch architecture is, through criticism and self-criticism he called on the Dutch architects social environment to begin thinking in-depth about the architecture and society. Later In 1995 Koolhaas became a permanent member of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, mainly engaged in teaching and research.

Followed “Culture of congestion”, “bigness” become the keyword of Koolhaas’ s writing, in the book《S, M, L, XL》published in 1995，Koolhaas focused on coping strategies of the buildings at different scales, it was the first time the "bigness" was put forward as a new architectural and urban concept to be discussed. With the publication of this book, Koolhaas produced a broader impact on the field of architecture.

In the 1990s, Koolhaas's theoretical ideas and architectural works were getting 32

mature, and was acknowledged by the international mainstream, then commissions followed, their practical results become very abundant.

Than it came to the new century in 2000, Koolhaas won the Pritzker Architecture Prize. J. Carter Brown, the chairman of the prize praised him “one of the most discussed contemporary architects in the world even before any of his design projects came to fruition”.

“His architecture is an architecture of essence; ideas given built form. He is an architect obviously comfortable with the future and in close communication with its fast pace and changing configurations. One senses in his projects the intensity of thought that forms the armature resulting in a house, a convention center, a campus plan, or a book. He has firmly established himself in the pantheon of significant architects of the last century and the dawning of this one. For just over twenty years of accomplishing his objectives—defining new types of relationships, both theoretical and practical, between architecture and the cultural situation, and for his contributions to the built environment, as well as for his ideas, he is awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.” 81

Reviews of the last 10 years With the popularity of Dutch Architects all over the world, the domestic atmosphere was so excited by the achievements by the “Super Dutch 82” influence.

When the whole industry was involved in the success in the world, however, in December 2000 , at the seminar held for the retire of Herman Herzberger 83 from teaching, in the open dialogue between Koolhaas and Herzberger, Koolhaas compared the unrealized library in France and the VPRO office building84 , and implied that MVRDV copied his idea, furthermore, he blamed the author of《Super Dutch》，Bart Lootsma 85 didn’t hold a critical attitude in his comments of Dutch contemporary architecture, he was only cheering the achievements of Dutch architecture blindly. Koolhaas was so obviously complaining about this state, because the whole "Super Dutch" are carried by himself, almost overwhelmed him.

Finally, he announced the "super Dutch” lack the sense of critical.

81

http://www.pritzkerprize.com/

82

Super Dutch : New Architecture in the Netherlands by Bart Lootsma, in 2000.

Propelled into the limelight by the success of Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architecture is achieving popularity and influence across the globe, the Netherlands is producing a generation of architects whose work is characterized by inventiveness, whimsy, creative use of materials, and dynamic formal experimentation. A phone-book-size collection, SuperDutch features all of the key figures in Dutch architecture today. Their work is presented through detailed drawings and stunning photography.

83

Herman Hertzberger (born 6 July 1932) is a Dutch architect and professor emeritus

84

The public broadcasting centre Villa VPRO was the first project of MVRDV, realised in 1997

85

Bart Lootsma (born 1957 in Amsterdam, Netherlands) is a historian, critic, and curator in the

fields of architecture, design, and fine arts.

33

Afterwards, it seemed that everyone agreed with that there were many crises behind the prosperity, for instance, the serious attitudes have been replaced by entertainment, the architecture abandoned traditional social responsibility and become entertainment, architects no longer tried to understand and improve the reality but dreamed of exaggeration, or even overthrow, overturn it, the pragmatism was pushed to expressionless extremes, ultimately a new, unimaginable strange form was created. The intervention of the government has already been replaced by the market economy and free trade. To survive, the Dutch architects stopped working as a collective, like TEAM X or CIAM. Architects have to compete with each other, in order to attract more attention, and get more opportunities, many architects began to abandon their architectural ideals, abandoned meaningful exploration, while desperately trying to find some operating means, both convenient and special. This has led to many buildings with an attractive appearance but with very poor even banal connotation.

Opposite to all the praises of contemporary Dutch architecture, people began to review the course from a more rational and comprehensive perspective, thus trying to establish a serious discussing atmosphere. Also, it has been recognized that these problems are not just for Dutch architects, it is also for the international architectural industry. The self-reflection and criticism of Dutch architects should cause everyone thinking.

Inspiration from Dutch contemporary architecture But still, although there are some critics on Dutch contemporary architecture, it is not equal to doubt the high-quality buildings by Dutch architects, we can learn a lot from them, but what can be absorbed from the Dutch contemporary architecture?

Changed the attitude to reality The Dutch architects proposed a new attitude of understanding things, not only in the architecture sector, but also spread to all aspects of the world. This shift is undoubtedly revolutionary in influencing at all levels of social life. Under the leadership of the Dutch architects, people realized that in contemporary society we should accept the way of the society operating, and face the reality with a positive attitude.

Expanded the boundaries of the field of architecture After the “Super Dutch� movement, we suddenly found an unprecedented expansion of the boundaries of the architecture. Many new things have been introduced into the architectural design, For example Koolhaas designed the space by a method of narrative, guiding the users through the building, which add a dimension of time to the space. UN Studio created an unprecedented in the form and spatial experience by the intervention of computer technology; NOX tried to 34

use media technology in architecture.

Introduced the computer technology into the design process Computer technology has played an important role in the Dutch architects’ work, much more than accurate modeling or drawing aids. MVRDV is the one which attracts attention owing to maximize the usage of computer during the design process, but also being questioned criticized because of the method. Whether computer technology can play a leading role in the design or not is indeed questionable. But living in information time, if the architects cannot play an effective application of electronic products, and do not realize the revolutionary impact of virtual space for architecture, then the meaning of times cannot be reflected. Dutch architect's practice maybe not successful, but they took the first step.

PIET HEIN TUNNEL by UN Studio, Amsterdam, 1990-1997

Source: http://www.unstudio.com/

Increased critical voices Although the whole "golden age" lack of critical voices apparently, the success of Dutch architecture is built on the idea of constantly criticizing traditions and de facto basis, the Dutch avant-garde architects promote the development of modern architecture by brave criticism and challenges. And also the Dutch architects awake from this bubble first, to carry out self-reflection and criticism.

Now in people's minds, the challenge to the classic is not impossible or meaningless attempts. The Dutch architects wake the criticism by their courage.

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Summary Looking through Dutch architecture in 20th century, on one hand, the Dutch architects percieved the world as their stage; on the other hand, the Netherlands present itself onto an international stage. This comprehensive international performance can be traced back to the international “Modernism” movement of the early 20th century. At the beginning of 20th century, the Dutch architects had already put their eyes on other country critically and built their own theory which led the earliest modern architecture in Netherlands. Then As early as in 1917, the Dutch artists Theo van Doesburg and Mondrian Piet Mondrian launched the "De Stijl" architecture and art wave; in 1922, Theo van Doesburg visited and taught in Bauhaus school of Germaney, meant the Dutch “De Stijl” architecture going further to the world. Between the two world wars, the “CIAM” promoted international modern architecture movement, Gerrit Rietveld and Hendrik Berlage attended the 1st meeting. After World War II, the role of "CIAM" gradually dissolved and developing into branches, Team X and several others, Jacob Bakema and Aldo van Eyck these two Dutch architects were core members

After the 1980s, the Dutch government began to intervene. After 1980s, Rotterdam Arts Council held Architecture International of Rotterdam to call on more interactions between Ductch architecture and foreign architecture. It has fast and effective result, MANACOO、OMA and MVRDV become famous in this progress, also many foreign architects like Kiso Kuokawa, Bolles&Wilson, Renzo Piano, Aldo Rossi, Bernard Tschumi also began their projects in Netherlands. Also from 1980s, the theory and practice from Rem Koolhaas and OMA even widen the field of architecture. After 1990s, NAI acts more to carry foward Dutch Architecture, International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, IABR are held every 2 year, since 2003, making Netherlands a platform for the world architecture and also making the world a platform for Dutch Architecture.

All of the above are about the international aspects of Dutch Architecture, but Architecture is part of culture. To find the reason why Dutch architecture has become international, the open- minded Dutch culture must be referred. For centuries, the Netherlands and Dutch culture are always closely related with the world, During the "golden age" of the Netherlands, After “Peace of Westphalia” in 1648, the country began to act as “De Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden ", and became a main trading kingdom and has a strong naval power. On this basis, technology and art also flourished. Many cities expanded. Amsterdam, being known for the rivers was among the treasures of the city. In the 19th century, after the Netherlands was invaded by Napoleon’s army, and its economic and geopolitical position was surpassed by the Great Britain, but even so, the Dutch national and cultural independence are still soaked with an international attitude, either on the way or in the treatment of trading ideas and attitudes of immigrants, 36

which probably explains why the Dutch have never been with a mysterious romantic nationalism effects, this effect was the source of strength by which other European countries fight for independence and unity .But it is already another issue to be researched.

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Literature List Publications: · H.P. Berlage, Thoughts on Style,1886-1909, Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1996 · Leen van Duin, Barbieri, S.Umberto , A hundred years of Dutch architecture 1901-2000, 2003 · Langmead, Donald, Dutch modernism, Greenwood, 1996 · Mumford, Eric, The CIAM discourse on urbanism, 1928-1960, MIT Press, 2000 · Reyner Banham， Theory and Design in the First Machine Age， MIT Press，1980 · GA document Extra 08, Richard Meier, Japan, 1997 · Bart Lootsma， SuperDutch: New Architecture in the Netherlands, 2000 · Gargiani, Roberto， Rem Koolhaas/OMA， EPFL, 2008 · McNeill, Donald， The global architect， Taylor and Francis, 2008 ·Magnago Lampugnani, Vittorio， Renzo Piano 1987-1994， Birkhäuser， 1995 ·Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York， Thames & Hudson, 1978 (original) 38

Article: Buchanan, Peter，Ship shape; Renzo Piano Building Workshop boldly situates a shiplike museum on Amsterdam's harborfront，jg.86 no. 9 sep. p.128-135，Nederland (NH) Amsterdam centrum

Websites: http://www.tschumi.com/ http://www.moma.org/collection/ http://www.team10online.org/ http://airfoundation.nl/ http://www.bonnefanten.nl/en http://www.nai.nl/ http://www.bonnefanten.nl/en/about_us/building_en_architect http://socks-studio.com/ http://www.oma.eu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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