Frits Peutz, whose Glass Palace in Heerlen (1936) is counted among the most important 1,000 structures of the 20th century, is for many, because of that design, a true modernist, who approached the design task rationally. Peutz's affinity with expressions of the Nieuwe Bouwen, such as the Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam (1925-1931), is clear. Yet in his designs he employed an idiom all his own, as with his residence on Oude Lindestraat in 1931: modernity with its own additions. When building his churches, Peutz was often bound by the strict rules of his clients, but he did realize one of the first concrete churches (Moeder-Annakerk in Heerlen), which brought him criticism in traditional circles. Peutz also wrote regularly in professional journals, clashing several times with the conservative editors of the Katholiek Bouwblad. The contradictions in his work made him difficult to place, both among his contemporaries and in architectural historiography. Attempts to draw him into the progressive or traditional camp failed because of the 'impurity' of his statements.