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07.2018 Würzburg

Established in Rotterdam in 1948 by Jo van den Broek (1898-1978) and Jaap Bakema (1914-81) the office of Van den Broek & Bakema was leading in postwar Netherlands and also operated successfully beyond Dutch borders. With an incredibly broad portfolio ranging from single-family homes over residential areas to town halls it is safe to say that basically anyone in the Netherlands has at some point entered a building by Van den Brook & Bakema. In 2000 the Netherlands Architecture Institute (today Het Nieuwe Instituut) in Rotterdam dedicated a retrospective to the architects that was accompanied by the present catalogue: „Van den Broek en Bakema 1948-1988: Architectuur en Stedenbouw“, compiled by Hans Ibelings and published by NAi Uitgevers.

The book pays tribute to the influential work of the architects: in eleven essays both architects and art historians discuss the work, theory and influence of Van den Broek & Bakema (both Van den Broek and Bakema were professors at TU Delft). In addition personal recollections of former employees and students add a vivid note to the book and shed light on the work processes of a buzzing architectural practice. Certainly it also contains a selection of works, among them the Lijnbaan in Rotterdam and of course the town halls in Marl/Germany and Terneuzen, the latter being one of Brutalism’s finest examples. Most of them are presented in photographs, drawings and plans that make the book even more valuable.