(abridged version Bonas essay) Pieter Lodewijk Kramer was born in Amsterdam on July 1, 1881. The architect himself said that at seventeen he was apprenticed to a carpenter. He then, probably at the age of seventeen or eighteen, took the evening course to become an architectural draftsman at the Industrieschool in Amsterdam, where - together with M. de Klerk - he received his first formation. The course lasted four years and was practice-oriented, but students also received drawing and theory lessons and two weekly evening classes on architecture. As a young man, Kramer worked for six months with the boat builder C. van Heemstede Obelt, then president of the Industrieschool. The period 1900-1911 In late 1900, Kramer joined the architectural firm of Eduard Cuypers in Amsterdam. Kramer got to know J.M. van der Mey and later S. de Clercq. Also working at Eduard Cuypers' firm were M. de Klerk, B.T. Boeyinga, J. Boterenbrood, G.F. la Croix, A. Eibink and J.A. Snellebrand. The apprenticeship with Cuypers would greatly influence Kramer's later style. Kramer stopped working at Cuypers in 1906 to work temporarily at various architectural firms until 1911. Earlier, in the period 1901-1902, he had been a draftsman at De Bazel's architectural office for six months, probably in Amsterdam at the De Ploeg studio. Kramer adopted two traits from De Bazel: designing everything in detail himself and working out sketches using a geometric system. Kramer also worked for over a year with B.J. Ouëndag, where he received lessons in construction drawing. In 1907, Kramer married Johanna van der Weide. Their circle of friends included De Klerk, whom Kramer greatly admired, and H.Th. Wijdeveld. Together, the three families owned a mill on a lake in Aalsmeer-East, which became a meeting place for artists. Public Works With industrialization, the city of Amsterdam experienced major social and economic changes. Organizations such as Architectura et Amicitia and the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst protested the subsequent drastic change in the cityscape. The Bond Heemschut also voiced its criticism. A.W. Bos, director of the Dienst der Publieke Werken Amsterdam since 1907, responded to these criticisms with the appointment in May 1911 of Van der Mey as aesthetic consultant to the municipality. From October 15, 1911, Kramer was appointed as Van der Mey's assistant. In 1916, Kramer was appointed aesthetic consultant to the Public Works Bridges Department (which included Sewerage, Water Refreshment and Paving), of which engineer W.A. de Graaf was head. De Graaf became Kramer's teacher in bridge construction until 1926, when De Graaf was appointed director of Public Works. In Amsterdam, because of the modernization of transportation, goods were no longer transported by water, but increasingly by land. This had the consequence of greatly increasing city traffic, and this led to the existing streets having to be widened and many canals filled in. In addition, the arrival of the electric streetcar meant that the existing bridges had to be lowered and widened. The design of the bridges also changed due to the new techniques and materials, especially cast iron and later concrete. Kramer remained with the Public Works Department until 1952, the year of his retirement. At the Bridges Department of Public Works Kramer strived for a type of bridge that would meet the demands of modern urban traffic while not affecting Amsterdam's historic cityscape. He therefore limited experimental designs to the new districts of the city. The hand of Van der Mey can often be seen in the design of his first bridges. First private commissions 1911-1916 While Kramer was attached to Amsterdam's Public Works Department, he also worked on some private commissions. Important to Kramer's career was his collaboration on the Scheepvaarthuis in Amsterdam, of which Van der Mey was coordinator. H.L. Krop was assistant to H.A. van den Eijnde, who was in charge of sculpture. Between 1912-1916, Kramer, together with De Klerk, worked on this project. Kramer's first design as a private architect was the building for the Union for Lesser Naval Personnel in Den Helder (1912-1914). The building, destroyed during World War II, showed striking efficiency and simplicity. The asymmetrical composition showed a good balance of vertical and horizontal lines. The colorful interior and furniture were designed by Kramer himself. The design was simple. The furniture was made of solid, inexpensive materials. Interiors and furniture Kramer was always interested in designing interiors and furniture. Between 1912 and 1914, he designed the now-lost interior of the IJ Pavilion in Amsterdam. His initial furniture was simple and practical, and the style was very similar to that of Berlage and De Bazel. Exhibition Architectura et Amicitia In November-December 1915, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Amsterdam Society Architectura et Amicitia, an exhibition was held in which designs by Berlage were highly praised. Also on display was work by young architects, including Van der Mey, De Klerk and Kramer. Kramer was not yet well-known in the architectural world, but on September 4 of the same year he had become a member of the architectural society. Van der Mey, de Klerk and Kramer had an anti-classical attitude in their designs and built traditionally in brick. With their belief in the aesthetics of architectural structure and emphasis on architectural beauty, they positioned themselves against Berlage's rationalism. The 1915 exhibition created a bond between the Architectura et Amicitia society, J.W.C. Tellegen, mayor of Amsterdam, and the aldermen of Public Housing and Public Works, F.M. Wibaut and W.H. Vliegen. A. Keppler, director of the Woningdienst - also founded in 1915 - thought that Amsterdam's new neighborhoods should have a homogeneous cityscape and commissioned wall facade designs from the young architects of Architectura et Amicitia. This group was labeled "The Amsterdam School" because its architecture came to define the new working-class neighborhoods in Amsterdam. Housing Act As early as 1896, the Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen criticized the poor condition of workers' housing and advocated government care. This and other criticism led to the introduction of the General Housing Act of 1901-1902. This law obliged the local authorities to give general regulations for the requirements, which houses had to meet. These included the building lines (front and rear facade), the height of buildings, the dimensions of rooms, portals and stairwells, toilets, drinking water supply and the supply of light and air. At the end of World War I, a huge housing shortage arose in the city, which brought with it great construction activity. Opportunities for urban development and thus expansion plans came again. Thanks to financial support from the state, city councils could now request advances for the construction of public housing. Various housing associations (Roman Catholic, Protestant Christian and Jewish associations, as well as associations for workers and civil servants, etc.) emerged in Amsterdam, which wanted to take advantage of this financial arrangement. The floor plans for the new building were drawn by a building society contractor. An architect was brought in to design the facades, thus ensuring the continuity of the streetscape required by the municipality. Private life Little is known of Kramer's private life. In 1930, Kramer divorced his wife and a few years later married the singer Body Rab. However, this marriage, too, did not last long. In his final years, after World War II, Kramer lived in social isolation. Many of his, mostly Jewish friends were no longer around. In 1952, he retired. In 1956, because of a serious illness, he was admitted to the Provincial Hospital, where he died on Feb. 8, 1961. Education: Evening course in architectural draftsman Industrieschool Maatschappij voor den Werkende Stand Amsterdam/1885-1899 (about) Additional functions: Exhibition home furnishings Stedelijk Museum, committee of architects and furniture artists/member/1921; Nederlandsche Vereeniging voor Ambachts- en Nijverheidskunst (VANK)/member/; Jury competition for a contemporary street light, vereeniging 'Kunst aan het volk'/member/1923; Subcommittee on standardization of stone/member/1927; Standardization committee T2/member/1925-1927; Examining Committee for Architectural Supervisor and Draughtsman/member/13-15 March 1916; Jury competition, society 'Art to the People' for a street and canal lighting in the old town and a street lighting for the new town/member/1923; Wendingen/editorial board member/1915-1925; Committee Exhibition Architectura/member/1925; Jury competition wallpaper/member/1925; Editorial Board Architectura/member/1915