"About buildings and their surroundings, about what buildings mean to those who use them, about the atmosphere of the building that was made and what remains of it today, that is what this book is about. The buildings described are the work of Kees Rijnboutt. From his extensive oeuvre, which runs from 1964 to the present day, a selection of nearly thirty works has been made. New photographs have been taken of each of these works, mostly in black and white, showing the buildings and their surroundings in their present state. Some buildings have been "remodeled" or "altered" in various ways over the years. Other buildings seem hardly changed at all. Looking at Kees Rijnboutt's oeuvre, one involuntarily sees a parallel with the history of Dutch building production over the last fifty years. During that period, Rijnboutt occupies significant positions in person and work, not only as an architect, but also in his capacity as Chief Government Architect, urban planner or supervisor. Nowhere militant or dramatic in tone, the book testifies to the necessity of an architecture willing to bear responsibility for what society demands of it, of constantly re-examining ends and means, in every period and situation anew."