Amsterdam School
PRESS FEATURE Amsterdam School In 2016 we are celebrating 100 years of the Amsterdam School. Though the name may suggest otherwise, this architectural style in fact refers to a period in which several architects pursued new ideals regarding architecture, design and building a better society. The pioneers were three befriended architects: Joan van der Mey, Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer. They came to international prominence with buildings such as Het Schip and the Scheepvaarthuis. The style also spread to other parts of the Netherlands, with notable examples including Park Meerwijk in Bergen, Hilversum Town Hall, and the former Radio Kootwijk transmitter park in the Veluwe region. The Amsterdam School is most renowned for its construction of high- quality working class dwellings, with a style characterised by extensive and creative use of brickwork, decorated facades and cast iron details. Bridges and churches were also built in this style. Hildo Krop, the principal sculptor of the Amsterdam School movement, created sculptures for countless bridges and public buildings in Amsterdam. These can still be admired throughout the entire Amsterdam region. The movement was not only manifested in architecture but also in interior objects such as lamps, clocks, mirrors, doorknobs, textiles and furniture, for example by furniture makers Harry Dreesen and Louis Deen. The Amsterdam School architectural style was applied widely in the 1910s and 1920s, but was to be overshadowed in Amsterdam by the Bauhaus and De Stijl movements following the Second World War. A renewed interest in the style emerged towards the end of the 1960s, however, and a whole century later we are now celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Amsterdam School.
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