Hendrik Petrus Berlage (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɛndrɪk ˈpeːtrʏz ˈbɛrlaːɣə]; 21 February 1856 – 12 August 1934) was a Dutch architect and designer. He is considered one of the fathers of the architecture of the Amsterdam School.

H. P. Berlage
Black and white photograph of Hendrik Petrus Berlage
Born
Hendrik Petrus Berlage

(1856-02-21)21 February 1856
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died12 August 1934(1934-08-12) (aged 78)
The Hague, Netherlands
Alma materETH Zurich
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsBeurs van Berlage (1903)
Jachthuis Sint-Hubertus (1920)
Kunstmuseum Den Haag (1935)
ProjectsPlan Zuid (1915)
Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam
Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague
St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge, Hoge Veluwe National Park

Life and work

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Hendrik Petrus Berlage, son of Nicolaas Willem Berlage and Anna Catharina Bosscha, was born on 21 February 1856 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.[1] Anna Catharina Bosscha's uncle was Johannes Bosscha, a scientist who taught in Polytechnische School te Delft.

Berlage studied architecture at the Zurich Institute of Technology between 1875 and 1878 after which he traveled extensively for 3 years through Europe. In the 1880s he formed a partnership in the Netherlands with Theodore Sanders which produced a mixture of practical and utopian projects. A published author, Berlage held memberships in various architectural societies including CIAM I.

Berlage was influenced by the Neo-Romanesque brickwork architecture of Henry Hobson Richardson and of the combination of structures of iron seen with brick of the Castle of the Three Geckos of Domènech i Montaner. This influence is visible in his design for the Amsterdam Commodities Exchange, for which he would also draw on the ideas of Viollet-le-Duc. The load-bearing bare brick walls and the notion of the primacy of space, and of walls as the creators of form, would be the constitutive principles of the 'Hollandse Zakelijkheid'.

A visit Berlage made to the U.S. in 1911 greatly affected his architecture. From then on the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright would be a significant influence. Lectures he gave when returned to Europe would help to disseminate Wright's thoughts in Germany.

A notable overseas commission was the 1916 Holland House,[2] built as offices for a Dutch shipping company in Bury Street in the City of London (behind Norman Foster's 30 St Mary Axe of 2003).[3]

Considered the "Father of Modern architecture" in the Netherlands and the intermediary between the Traditionalists and the Modernists, Berlage's theories inspired most Dutch architectural groups of the 1920s, including the Traditionalists, the Amsterdam School, De Stijl and the New Objectivists. He received the British RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1932.

Berlage died on 12 August 1934 in The Hague.[1] His son, also named Hendrik Petrus Berlage, was an astronomer in Royal Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia), whose name has been immortalized as a lunar crater (Berlage).[4]

Legacy

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The Berlage Institute has been a postgraduate school for architecture since 1990.

Works of Berlage are in the public collections of Museum de Fundatie, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, and Kröller-Müller Museum.

Publications

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  • Hendrik Berlage (1996): Hendrik Petrus Berlage: Thoughts on Style, 1886-1909 (Texts & Documents), The Getty Center For The History Of Art, ISBN 0-89236-334-7

References

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  1. ^ a b Heijden, Marien van der (5 February 2003). "Berlage, Hendrik Petrus". Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland. International Institute of Social History. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ "News & Views".
  3. ^ Wittekind, Sarah. "1916: Holland House, London". 100 Buildings 100 Years. The Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ^ Descriptive data on lunar craters from the United States Geological Survey. (Click on the crater name ) : "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature - Moon Nomenclature: Crater, craters". Astrogeology Research Program, U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2007.

Further reading

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  • Bock, Manfred (1983). Anfange einer neuen Architektur. Berlages Beitrag zur architektonischen Kultur der Niederlande im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert [Beginnings of a new architecture. Berlage's contribution to the architectural culture of the Netherlands in the late 19th century] (in German). 's Gravenhage/Wiesbaden. OCLC 10778197.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter (2005). Design of the 20th Century (25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. p. 107. ISBN 9783822840788. OCLC 809539744.
  • Gaillard, Karin; Dokter, Betsy (1992). Berlage en Amsterdam Zuid';'Berlage en de toekomst van Amsterdam Zuid' [Berlage and Amsterdam South';'Berlage and the future of Amsterdam South] (in Dutch). Amsterdam. ISBN 9789064501746.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Kohlenbach, Bernhard (1991). H.P. Berlage: Schriften zur Architektur [H.P. Berlage: Writings on Architecture] (in German) (German ed.). Basel: Birkhäuser. ISBN 3-7643-2587-9.
  • Polano, Sergio; Fanelli, Giovanni; Van Rossem, Vincent (2002). Hendrik Petrus Berlage. Phaidon Press. ISBN 1-904313-11-6.
  • Singelenberg, Pieter (1972). H.P. Berlage. Idea and style. The quest for modern architecture. Utrecht: Haentjens Dekker & Gumbert.
  • Sharp, Dennis (1991). Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0-8230-2539-X., ISBN 978-0-8230-2539-8
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