#jan gerko wiebenga

[frenchcurious]

Le Zonnestraal Sanatorium, Hilversum , Pays-Bas, conçu en 1926par Jan Duiker (1890-1935), Bernhard Bijvoet (1889-1979) et Jan Gerko Wiebenga (1886-1974) et ouvert en 1928. Images Kodde Architekten. - source Cristina Ardelean.

[germanpostwarmodern]

The Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam, since 2014 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the chief work of the architectural firm Brinkman & Van der Vlugt and an icon of interwar modernism in Europe. Revolving around Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt the office was one of the most prolific in the Netherlands and attracted young talents like Jan Gerko Wiebenga, who also worked on the Van Nelle Factory, or Mart Stam. Owing to a progressive metropolitan clientele as well as an aspiring municipality the office was able to realize a great number of modernist buildings, among them single-family homes like the Sonneveld House, the Bergpolderflat apartment building or the Feijenoord Stadium.

A number of Brinkman & Van der Vlugt’s buildings have been restored by architect Joris Molenaar who fittingly also is the author of the present monograph „Brinkman en Van der Vlugt architecten - Rotterdams City-Ideaal in International Style“, published in 2012 by NAi010 Publishers. Against the background of Molenaar’s practical experience with the office’s buildings it doesn’t surprise that the latter also form the backbone of the book: along seven chapters and a selection of 20 buildings the author elaborates the architects’ design/building process and in turn seeks to connect it with contemporary ideas of the ideal city in general and Rotterdam in particular. This aspect probably is the weakest part of the book since it never becomes quite clear what their specific contribution to modern Rotterdam was beyond their undoubtedly modern buildings.

What is more convincing is the juxtaposition of the wealth of archival material, including plans and photos, Molenaar has brought together in the book and Iwan Baan’s contemporary photographs: they enable the reader to evaluate the historic buildings in their present-day context in which they have become a permanent part in a continuously changing fabric.

„Brinkman en Van der Vlugt architecten - Rotterdams City-Ideaal in International Style“ is a comprehensive monograph that provides a visually stunning overview of one of Dutch modernism’s most remarkable offices.

[thearchitecturalsite]

Brinkman & Van der Vlugt, Van Nelle Factory, Rotterdam 1925. 'Van der Vlugt became involved in the construction of this coffee, tea and tobacco factory after the death of Michiel Brinkman. At that point there existed only a broad zoning plan. The factory's design is in many ways revolutionary. Acknowledging the inventiveness of the young Van der Vlugt and his colleagues, this innovation is equally attributable to the dedication of the client, C.H. van der Leeuw. Besides optimum functioning of the factory, great emphasis was placed on providing improved working conditions for the employees. The factory proper occupies three volumes of decreasing height, one of eight levels for tobacco, a coffee section of five levels with a double-height entresol, and a three-level tea department. These three factory zones are interlinked by volumes containing stairs, toilets, washrooms and space for lifts. Each stair tower has its own form of stair. At the rear of the tobacco section is a warehouse with a sawtooth roof. All three zones adjoin a main service route and are further connected by bridges (almost the hallmark of this factory) to a row along the water of dispatch and storage spaces, a cycle shelter, a boiler house and workshops... Mart Stam was a key collaborator on this venture. His contribution is probably most appreciable in the taut, supremely functional character of the whole.' More: Architectureguide NL Photographer Rory Hyde. Flickr License CC BY-SA 2.0