A. van Kranendonk (1917-1991) Antoon van Kranendonk (1917-1991), Catholic architect between old and new. Antoon van Kranendonk was born in Brielle on Feb. 17, 1917, and grew up in a literary milieu. In 1920 the family moved to Delft, where he attended the H.B.S., and in 1933 to Amsterdam where his father became professor of English Literature. After completing the M.T.S. in Amsterdam and working for several months as a gravestone designer, he decided to study architecture at the Technical High School in Delft in 1937. Here he graduated as a structural engineer in 1945. However, due to a lack of assignments in the Netherlands, he decided to first make an extensive study trip to Scandinavia. In Denmark he worked, among other things, at a cooperative with its own architectural firm (Michaelsen). Here he designed his first known project, a household school that was most likely later executed. After van Kranendonk's return to the Netherlands, there was soon renewed contact with the Technische Hogeschool in Delft. Here he was first the assistant to Professor Nico Lansdorp for seven years, and in 1957 he was himself appointed professor with the task of architectural design in the second year of study. He also taught at the H.B.O. in Tilburg for two years and was editorial secretary of the Katholiek Bouwblad from 1946 to 1954, in which he himself published regularly.After graduation, Van Kranendonk associated with architects H. (Henri) J.W. Thunnissen (1890-1978), whose daughter he also married, and the latter's son A. (Andre) W.P. Thunnissen (1921) in the Architectenbureau Thunnissen-Van Kranendonk-Thunnissen in The Hague, joined from about 1963 by the Hungarian refugee and architect M.J. Becka. Together they designed for several decades mainly for Catholic clients. At the end of the 1940s, Van Kranendonk designed his first residential buildings in The Hague and Breda. In Breda, in collaboration with his teacher M.J. Granpré Molière, he helped shape the Heuvelkwartier reconstruction district. In the early 1950s he made a number of competition designs for town halls in Schiedam, Cuyk and Amersfoort, of which only the latter was executed. More extensive and interesting are Van Kranendonk's church designs, many of which were realized in collaboration with H. and A. Thunnissen. Initially, Van Kranendonk used a traditionalist style akin to that of the Delft School, i.e. clean brickwork, striking towers and forms derived from historical examples. The 'polder churches' at Middenmeer (1953), Ens (1956) and Luttelgeest (1956) bear witness to this traditionalist and subdued atmosphere. The large seminary complex in Noordwijkerhout (1958), with its free-standing chapel on a round base, marks the transition to more daring forms in the 1960s. The highlight in this respect was the Don Bosco church in Alkmaar from 1961. Here Van Kranendonk conceived a central construction under a single monumental tent roof that allowed an optimal relationship between the churchgoers and the main altar. An equally daring roof construction is that of the Mother of God Church in Roosendaal (1966); here the concrete 'hyppar shell' spans a church space of 21 square meters. In addition to churches, Van Kranendonk designed numerous schools. In recent years, Van Kranendonk designed mainly in his hometown of The Hague. Important projects here include office buildings on Scheveningseweg (1977) and Koninginnegracht (around 1979), and the Sint Antonius van Paduakerk on Fluwelen Burgwal from 1984. However, there is no recognizable architectural signature. The enclosed list of works provides the most complete overview possible of Van Kranendonk's oeuvre, established on the basis of literature and exploratory archival research and interviews with A. (W.P.) Thunnissen. There are no other archival materials at the NAI. The starting point for the selection was Van Kranendonk's contribution to a design. In a few cases, however, a design was executed by both Van Kranendonk and H. and A. Thunnissen, or it is not known who was primarily responsible. These works are also included in the list. Education: H.B.S. Delft/1929-1934;M.T.S. Amsterdam (architecture)/1934-1937;T.H. Delft (architecture)/1937-1945 Side activities: T.H. Delft/assistant and professor/;R.K. Bouwblad/editorial board member/;Haagsche Kunstkring/member/;Grijze Kring/member/;Sint Pieterskring/member/