(abridged version Bonas Essay) Johannes Hendrik Willem Leliman was born on August 26, 1878. Already at an early age he developed his talent for drawing by copying his father's architectural sketches. Willem Leliman began his architectural career in 1900 in his parents' home in Amsterdam. Only in 1917 did he move into his self-designed house annex office in Baarn, where he was active for only a few more years; he died in 1921. However, Willem Leliman's built oeuvre is mainly characterized by housing complexes and villas. He also built some commercial buildings and two churches. He had a great interest in public housing, in which the garden city idea, which came over from England, was his greatest source of inspiration. The unimplemented urban plans he designed for Hoofddorp and Aalsmeer also show garden city-like elements. He found sources of inspiration for his villas in Germany, Switzerland and England. Leliman was a busy man. Although his career did not span much more than twenty years, a survey of specifications and drawings made by his chef de bureau counts nearly two hundred works, and he held many positions both within and outside his own professional circle. It was Willem Leliman who, in an article in 1912, called for the foundation of an Architecture Museum. He had a keen interest in art history and was therefore an avid book collector. After obtaining his HBS diploma in Amsterdam, Willem Leliman trained as an architectural engineer at the Polytechnic School in Delft from 1895-1899. Already during his studies he made himself known as a very committed person, who was very quick to write. His interest in architectural history grew through the lessons he received from the famous Delft professor of "Schoone Bouwkunst" E.H. Gugel. Already in his student days he began giving lectures at various art and architectural societies, such as the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst and Architectura et Amicitia, and wrote articles in the Bouwkundig Weekblad and De Ingenieur. Architecture and society The subjects of Willem Limeman's articles and lectures were in the fields of architectural history, public housing and everyday building practice. Despite his large written output, he did not play an active role in the architectural debate of his time. According to him, the pursuit of architecture had to parallel the pursuit of a general philosophy of life. At first glance, Leliman's built oeuvre appears somewhat conservative, but it is primarily humane and user-oriented. The designs for villas, town houses and working-class houses show a preference for a high degree of livability, realized by practical floor plans and a clear spatial hierarchy. In doing so, he strove for a certain intimacy; was averse to monumentality and in the detailing of his buildings always took human dimensions and ease of use as his starting point. Monumentenzorg or Heemschut In 1919, Willem Leliman was appointed a member of the National Commission for the Preservation of Monuments, division for inventory and description (division A). The work consisted of inventorying and describing Dutch monuments from before 1850. He was assigned to the subcommittee that would describe North Holland, together with J.A. Frederiks, Dr. E.J. Haslinghuis, Dr. J.C. Overvoorde and W. te Riele Gzn. He was not able to do much in this committee. The ratification of his appointment remained at the ministry for some time and then he had to miss several meetings due to other activities. It was not until the eleventh meeting, on June 10, 1920, that is, a year after his appointment, that he showed up. His absence from the meetings of the State Commission was not only due to his health, but also to lack of time due to his involvement with the new Bond Heemschut. February 2, 1911 was the de facto establishment of the Bond Heemschut. With roughly the same goal in mind, he advocated public consultancies that would work preventively against the defacement of town and country. The aesthetic level of architecture could be raised. An architecture museum Willem Leliman was the first person to call for an architecture museum in an article in De Bouwwereld in 1912, a museum that would eventually become a reality as the Netherlands Architecture Institute in 1988. His 1912 article reveals what he believed should be understood by an architecture museum. For the time being, the museum was to be limited primarily to collecting preferably original drawings and models. Later, when conditions would become more favorable, other complementary collections could be acquired around this. The scope could become even broader if the museum were to merge with an institution that already possessed a collection of books, photographs, casts, slides ("slides") and the like, such as the then Technische Hogeschool in Delft. Thus a valuable architectural study center could be created. As early as 1911, his idea of an architectural museum began to take shape, as the title of an editorial indicates: 'A museum of architectural drawings'. In it, architects were exhorted to attach more importance to their own drawings. In a drawing, he felt, the designer could put his personality. Better than the purest measurement, the original drawing, made by the designer himself or under his direct supervision, would make the intention of a design clear. Study drawings, competition designs, sketches and preliminary designs also belonged in the museum. As a consequence of the article of 1912, that same year, at the suggestion of the board of the Architectura et Amicitia Society, a committee was appointed to study the preparation of such a museum. Initially Jonas Ingenohl, J.H. de Groot and W.A.E. van der Pluym were appointed as members of the committee, followed by Prof. H. Brugmans, Prof. A. Derkinderen, Jhr. H. Teding van Berkhout, Jos Th. Cuypers, Prof. H. Evers, Dr. J. Kalf, J.M. van der Mey, F. Slothouwer and Prof. W. Vogelensang. Coverage of the architectural museum in De Bouwwereld ceased when Weissman took over as editor after Leliman's death in 1921. After sixty years, Leliman's idea was realized after all; the creator of the idea lives on in the naming of the Vereniging Leliman, the association of friends of the Netherlands Architecture Institute. Leliman as designer Leliman was also quick to attract attention as an architect. In 1900, the year he established himself as an independent architect, he made it to the final competition of the Prix de Rome. However, with a design for a Palace of Justice, he had to give way to J.F. Buchel from Rotterdam. A fierce and bitter discussion ensued. Leliman wrote a letter to the Minister of the Interior informing him that he was not satisfied with the jury's reasoning and asking him to take back his second prize, stating that it was at his own request. Leliman secured his first major commission by winning a competition in 1903 for a Remonstrant church in Arnhem, which was executed in a slightly altered form and has since been demolished. His competition design for a bathhouse was also awarded a prize, and he won first prize in a competition in 1905 for a store building for the firm Zijlstra & Rupp in Arnhem. However, both of the latter designs were not executed. Slot In 1921 Willem Leliman died of kidney disease. He was only 41 years old. The enormous amount of publications and architectural designs makes it hard to believe that these came about within a period of less than twenty-five years. His enormous efforts evoked opposition, but he also managed to get many people on board in matters that concerned him himself. Throughout his career, he strove for a socialization of architecture, both in his written work and in the organizations in which he collaborated or initiated and in the practice-oriented approach to his architectural designs. Education: Polytechnic School Delft/1895-1899. Additional positions: Trade journal De Bouwwereld/editor-in-chief/1902-1921; Bond Heemschut/board member/1911 (from); Architectura et Amicitia/member/; Vereniging van Delftsche Ingenieurs/board member/; Commissie van toezicht op het Middelbaar Onderwijs/lid/; De Ambachtschool/board member/; Commissie voor het Watertoerisme ANWB/board member/; Schoonheidscommissie Amsterdam/board member/; Schoonheidscommissie Baarnd/board member/; Prijsvraag Eengezins-werkmanswoningen Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst/jurylid/1908 (in or for).