H.B. van Broekhuizen (1889-1948) Introduction In the 1930s, architect H.B. van Broekhuizen (1889-1948) gained fame with the Arnhemse Buitenschool he designed, an open-air school on the Bosweg in Arnhem. This building attracted attention because of its innovative design based on American examples. The outdoor school was featured in several publications and was the high point in Van Broekhuizen's career as a designer of school buildings. In 1934, the Municipality of Arnhem even received a request for photographs for an "Exhibition of International Architecture" by the Royal Institute of British Architects.(1) In addition to the Buitenschool, Van Broekhuizen designed a number of other municipal schools in Arnhem. In the 1930s he started as a private architect, first in Arnhem from 1934 in Hengelo Overijssel. Until shortly after World War II, he worked together with the Arnhem architect G. Feenstra. The period before 1918 Hendrik Barend van Broekhuizen was born on July 30, 1889 in Spanbroek, North Holland.(2) Little is known about his education and work from the period before 1918. From 1913 Van Broekhuizen was a member of the society 'Architectura et Amicitia' in Amsterdam. He was an "ordinary member" for some time, showing that he lived in Amsterdam, perhaps in connection with his studies. Van Broekhuizen participated in two competitions during this period, in which his entries received no prizes, but were rewarded with publication.In the years 1915-1916 he participated in the competition for a transformer house of the Society Architectura et Amicitia in Amsterdam.(3) By the end of World War I, Van Broekhuizen was living in The Hague. There his architectural views were partly shaped by the Hague School, an architectural movement that was initially closely associated with the Haagsche Kunstkring. Characteristic of the Hague School is the use of rectangular brick building masses and wide overhanging roofs. Building sculpture was also often used. The functional aspect received more attention in this movement than in most Amsterdam School architecture. Arnhem: school buildings In April 1918, Van Broekhuizen moved to Arnhem, where he became deputy director of Gemeentewerken. Already in 1916, his predecessor, G.C. Bremer, who had a temporary appointment, had joined Landsgebouwen. In 1918, architect Gerrit Feenstra (1890-1985) also joined Gemeentewerken. Van Broekhuizen and Feenstra lived next door and worked together a lot, including on competitions.(4) Feenstra resigned in 1920 and started his own firm. He soon managed to build up a large practice, with commissions from the dairy industry and private housebuilders in Arnhem, among others. Van Broekhuizen designed a number of schools in Arnhem in the 1920s, several of which were reviewed in national magazines. Most of these schools arose in the new working-class neighborhood the Geitenkamp, where a large housing complex designed by Feenstra was also executed. The oldest school with certainty by Van Broekhuizen, is the Creutzberg School on Vijverlaan from the years 1921-1922. Feenstra discussed this building in the Bouwkundig Weekblad. Van Broekhuizen drew the Creutzbergschool as an assembly of rectangular brick volumes with decorative brickwork and building sculpture. This sculpture was designed by Arnhem sculptor Gijs Jacobs van den Hof. Van Broekhuizen also worked with this sculptor on other buildings, such as the custodial school on Druckerstraat and Public Primary School No. 6 on Bonte Wetering. In 1929 Van Broekhuizen built the Public Primary School No. 4 or White School on the corner of Bronbeeklaan and Rosendaalseweg. This building, with its white-painted facades and thatched roofs, was inspired by W.M. Dudok's Fabritius School in Hilversum. The schools Van Broekhuizen designed until 1929 show that he closely followed developments in school construction. This applied not only to design but also to aspects such as floor plans, light and air for the classrooms and integration into the surroundings. With the Arnhem Outdoor School in 1929, Van Broekhuizen received an - for him - entirely new assignment. Open-air or outdoor schools were usually built for TB patients. The first one in the Netherlands was built in 1908 in the dunes near The Hague. A few years earlier, open-air schools had been established in Germany (1904), England (1907) and France (1907). After the first open-air school opened in the United States in 1908, rapid development followed there. By the 1920s, open-air education was available in most major cities in America. In New York, it was even mandatory to provide an open-air classroom in every school.(5) Because of the high requirements for the supply of light and air, this type of school also inspired several Dutch architects to special designs. Jan Duiker designed an open-air school with radially placed classrooms for the TB aftercare colony Zonnestraal near Hilversum in 1926. This plan was not implemented, but his open-air school for healthy children in Amsterdam from the years 1927-1930 received international acclaim. A preserved documentation folder shows, that the board of the Arnhem Outdoor School had documentation from the Vereeniging voor Openluchtscholen. This material includes a booklet on the plan for the school at Zonnestraal and a brochure summarizing foreign developments. A picture of a schoolroom with folding facades in America clearly served as a model for Van Broekhuizen's design.(6) During the construction of the Arnhem Buitenschool, remains of the former monastery Monnikenhuizen were found. Van Broekhuizen followed with interest the excavations on the site and in held a lecture on the subject in 1930 for the Arnhemsch Genootschap van Oudheidkunde. Apparently his historical interest was aroused, because in the following year he became a member of the board of this society, a position he held until 1934. Art exercise From 1923 Van Broekhuizen was a teacher of architecture at the Arnhem school of arts and crafts Kunstoefening.(7) This school had been founded in 1803 as a drawing school. It evolved into the present Academy of Visual Arts via a secondary school. In 1922 a course in architecture was established. Two years later there were thirty students. In 1924 the teachers were A.M. Kuysten, one of the initiators of the Geldersche Schoonheidscommissie, A. Kok, G. Feenstra and Van Broekhuizen.(8) Kuysten and G.J. van Lerven, the director of the school, pleaded in 1924 for a revision of the education, which in their opinion was focused too much on the technical subjects.(9) In 1927, in addition to Van Broekhuizen, there were five teachers for the architecture course: A. Jonker, H. Haanschoten, J.P. van Muilwijk, M. van den Brand and J. van der Linden. Feenstra had left by then, but did design the new building at Stationsplein and Coehoornstraat, which was completed in 1933. After the relocation of the art academy in the 1960s, this building was furnished as cultural center De Coehoorn. Feenstra and Van Broekhuizen Van Broekhuizen remained in municipal service until 1934, but also frequently collaborated with Feenstra in the 1920s. One of the most striking joint designs, in which Van Broekhuizen probably had a large share, is the Vrijzinnig-Hervormde Kerk on Parkstraat in Arnhem. This building has a rectangular, almost square facade of brick, with a wide, rectangular frame of decorative brickwork around the entrance. In 1934, Feenstra was commissioned to liquidate the office of the architect A.K. Beudt in Hengelo, who died that year. Feenstra knew Beudt from working for the construction office of the garden village 't Lansink in Hengelo. Both worked there under the direction of architect K.J. Muller. Feenstra had Van Broekhuizen take over Beudt's office and continue it under the name "Feenstra and Van Broekhuizen. Because commissions were scarce during the crisis period, Feenstra occasionally helped Van Broekhuizen with commissions in Arnhem. There they built a number of houses in the vicinity of the Van Heemstralaan, among other things. The Hengelo office gradually received more commissions, but in the late 1930s Van Broekhuizen fell ill. Feenstra reports in his obituary about Van Broekhuizen, that during the Second World War he resisted the occupier in all sorts of ways and did a lot of good work, especially for artists. During the war years illness struck again. Meanwhile, his oldest son was forced to work in Germany and his youngest son joined the resistance. After the war, Van Broekhuizen recovered. Feenstra no longer needed to support his work and the association was dissolved. However, Feenstra remained closely involved with Van Broekhuizen's firm and occasionally joint projects still arose, such as the reconstruction of the Egheria estate in De Lutte and an expansion of garden village 't Lansink in Hengelo (Ov.). However, Van Broekhuizen fell ill again. He lived to see the promotion of his eldest son to structural engineer, but died in 1948.(10) This son, Evert H. van Broekhuizen, continued the firm under the name "Feenstra and Van Broekhuizen."(11) Notes 1. Gelders Archief Arnhem, Archives Gemeentesecretarie Arnhem 1930-1934, no. 3778. 2. Gelders Archief Arnhem, Arnhem voter list, 1925-1926. 3. J. Schilt and J. van der Werf, Genootschap Architectura et Amicitia 1855-1990, Rotterdam 1992, p. 211, 229. 4. G. Feenstra, "H.B. van Broekhuizen," Bouwkundig Weekblad, jg. 66, 1948, no. 9, p. 65. 5. R. Hoogland and B.H. Sajet, Open air schools, Amsterdam 1923 (brochure Vereeniging voor Openluchtscholen). 6. Gelders Archief Arnhem, documentation originating from Arnhem Open Air School. 7. This year is mentioned on a list of members. According to another list, the official appointment was on 15-09-1924. Gelders Archive, Arnhem documentation collection, ADC 335. 8. 'Kunstoefening', Illustrated Sunday paper of the Arnhemsche Courant, 1924, p. 217-219. 9. Y. Segers, On the Crossroads of Old and New. Het Gelders Genootschap 1919-1994: 75 jaar op de bres voor de schoonheid van Gelderland, The Hague 1994, p. 127. 10. G. Feenstra, "H.B. van Broekhuizen," Bouwkundig Weekblad, jg. 66, 1948, no. 9, p. 65. 11. Meanwhile, E.H. van Broekhuizen, who continued the firm, died. Communication from Mr. L. Feenstra, Waalre (1997). Side activities: Kunstnijverheidsschool Kunstoefening/teacher bouwkunde/1922-1934;Arnhemsch Genootschap van Oudheidkunde/board member/1931-1934;Commission in charge of conducting the examinations of architectural supervisor and architectural draughtsman/1920