(abridged version Bonas Essay) Johannes Duiker (1890-1935) After graduating from the five-year H.B.S. in The Hague, Duiker began studying architecture at the Technische Hogeschool in Delft in 1908. In 1913 he graduated with Prof. H. Evers. In Delft, during his studies, he had met Bernard Bijvoet, with whom he became good friends. Both worked with Evers for three years immediately after graduation on the construction of the new city hall in Rotterdam. In 1916, they started an architectural firm together in The Hague. In 1918, their entry for the national competition for a new building for the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten (1917-1921) in Amsterdam was awarded first prize. The highly symmetrical layout of the design with striking horizontal and vertical lines and the large wall surfaces referred to influences of Berlage and the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This cut ties with Evers' traditionalism. The first pile was driven in 1920, but further development ultimately came to nothing. In 1921 it was announced that the government had withdrawn its commission. Probably the young firm of Duiker and Bijvoet did not have enough experience in house for this huge commission. They did, however, acquire considerable name recognition with this competition. Thanks to Berlage, who was on the jury for the competition of the Rijksacademie, Duiker and Bijvoet were brought into contact with the Algemeene Nederlandsche Diamantbewerkersbond (ANDB) in connection with the commission for an aftercare colony for tuberculosis patients in Hilversum. In 1920, the first designs arrived on the table. But a crisis in the diamond industry caused it to fall through for the time being. The earliest designs for "Zonnestraal" from the early 1920s were heavily influenced by the work of Lloyd Wright and Berlage, as was the case with their other designs from this period, especially in The Hague. In 1919, Duiker and Bijvoet established a new architectural firm in Zandvoort, which lasted until 1925. Several events took place in the mid-1920s that influenced the joint careers of Duiker and Bijvoet. With the loss of the commission for the Rijksacademie, the financial prospects were no longer so rosy. Duiker left for Amsterdam and Bijvoet settled in Paris. This effectively marked the end of the Duiker and Bijvoet architectural firm, although Duiker continued to regularly ask Bijvoet for advice after that. Together with other kindred spirits, Duiker and Bijvoet struck out in a new direction, which has become known as the "Nieuwe Bouwen. This term is used in the Netherlands for a movement in architectural history from 1925-1940 that is also known internationally as Functionalism. American architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) powerfully articulated one of the main tenets of Functionalism in the phrase: 'form follows function.' Functionalism - and thus the New Building - abhorred any superfluous decoration or ornamentation because they serve no purpose and only distract. Moreover, the New Building focuses on cheap and efficient building for a healthy living environment under the motto "light, air and space. New Building wants light structures instead of heavy brick walls and prefers large windows to small window openings: after all, sunlight and fresh air are indispensable for a healthy body. To achieve this, it uses new materials such as reinforced concrete, steel and glass and new techniques such as assembly building, industrial prefabrication and standardization. By using a concrete skeleton, walls of buildings lose their load-bearing function. Solid masonry is no longer needed. Steel makes it possible to detail frames for doors and windows very slim. Glass serves to maximize the transparency of buildings. When the crisis in the diamond industry was restored, the design for the Nazorgkolonie Zonnestraal (1926-1932) in Hilversum was taken up again and revised according to the new ideas of New Building. In 1926, the final design for Zonnestraal - in which Bijvoet also had another share - was approved. For the complicated concrete calculations of the Zonnestraal, Duiker, as with earlier designs, had called on civil engineer Jan Gerko Wiebenga because of his extensive knowledge of concrete technology. The Zonnestraal complex is considered the high point of this period. A concrete skeleton left in view formed the construction of this complex. The floor plans are freely divisible. The facades no longer had a load-bearing function and consisted of white stucco and sky-blue, slender steel window frames. The period of the 1920s coincides with the founding of two architectural groups: 'Opbouw' in Rotterdam (1920) and 'De 8' in Amsterdam (1927). From 1928, Duiker was a member of De 8. Together with Wiebenga, Duiker raised the issue of high-rise buildings within De 8. High-rise buildings, Duiker argued, would create more space for parks and ponds. The responsibility of the architect was also to contribute to improving living conditions and thus to a better society. These were ideas, strongly rooted in the social democracy of the time. The pursuit of light and air in architecture also included the pursuit of a healthy environment in schools. The open-air schools that gained widespread support during this period were an extension of this aspiration. Duiker designed an open-air school in Amsterdam with a concrete skeleton and glass facade in narrow steel frames. The result was maximum openness and transparency. From 1924 until the design of "Cineac" (1933-1934) in Amsterdam, Duiker had used concrete construction in his buildings. This changed in 1933. Because he used the existing foundation for Cineac on Reguliersbreestraat in Amsterdam, the construction had to be as light as possible. Moreover, the price of steel was considerably lower than concrete at the time, and the design of the cinema hall called for steel walls because of the acoustics and climate. It was the first time that Duiker used a steel skeleton, a construction that, incidentally, was perfectly in line with his views on functionalist building. The Cineac marked another high point in Duiker's oeuvre, not only because of the use of the steel skeleton but also because of the ingenious solution to the unfavorable shape of the building site. In 1934, Duiker was commissioned to design the theater and hotel complex "Gooiland" in Hilversum. It was to be his last project, which he could only work out in outline due to his debilitating illness. He died Feb. 23, 1935, of cancer, one week before his 45th birthday. Bijvoet, who had come over from France, supervised the elaboration and execution of the design for Gooiland. Over time, reactions to Duiker's buildings varied. There were objections to the Cineac in Reguliersbreestraat and the First Open Air School for the Healthy Child, both in Amsterdam, from the very first design. The high roof structure on the Cineac with its neon advertisements visible from the Munt provoked much opposition. The Open Air School would detonate in the Amsterdam School-style Amsterdam-Zuid. In addition, the designs were so tailored to the function of the buildings that over time, with changes in functions, the buildings fell into disrepair or were disfigured by renovations. No attention was paid to the fact that the buildings represented a particular body of architectural thought. The latter was particularly true of the Zonnestraal buildings. In the 1960s, the first signs of turning this tide were noticeable. From inside and outside the architectural world, there were calls for careful handling of Duiker's work. The Zonnestraal restoration project is the best example of this. Its status as a national monument and even, in the case of Zonnestraal, a UNESCO monument have reinforced this position. Education: TH Delft architecture/1913