A collection of vintage architecture photographs showcases some stunning brick done in The Netherlands between the two world wars. The Het Nieuwe Instituut in January began its exhibition The Netherlands Builds in Brick using photographs pulled from its extensive archives.
The show is part of a series, Surprising Finds from the Collection, exhibitions which were developed through archival materials. Aside from showing off some fabulous architecture, the exhibition hopes to put a myth about Dutch design to bed. The museum states:
During the inter-war period, modern, functionalist designs in glass and concrete were thought to have comprehensively dethroned the traditional brick architecture of Berlage, Kropholler and the Amsterdam School. Yet The Netherlands builds in brick shows that brick architecture continued to develop alongside modernism. Illustrations of that are the expressive brickwork of the Shipping Office Building by Joan van der Mey, and the solidly majestic quality of a residence designed by Willem Kromhout in Noordwijk aan Zee, which rises out of the dunes like a fort.
Supporting the photographs are interventions managed by Studio Makkink&Bey, who invited artist Leon de Bruijne, designer Govert Flint and spatial designer Harm Rensink to build contemporary structures to support the archival materials. Their work is pictured here along with the photographs from the collection.
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From “The Netherlands Builds in Brick” at the Het Nieuwe Instituut.
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