(abridged version Bonas Essay) Maria Philippus Josephus Hubertus Klijnen was born on January 7, 1887, in Maastricht, where his father Mathias Klijnen, married to Maria Hoenen, worked as a bailiff. He went through high school and various further education, including that of structural engineer. In 1914 Klijnen settled in Rotterdam, where he began working as an architect 2nd class at the Stadstimmerhuis in Rotterdam. During this period he designed a number of bridges, among other things. In 1917, Klijnen began working as an independent architect in Rotterdam. After his marriage in 1920 to Johanna Maria Philippona, he moved to 141 De Carpentierstraat in The Hague. Here their two children were born, Francisca Maria and Mathijs Maria. During the bombing of the Bezuidenhout, a large part of their possessions was lost, including an important part of the drawings archive. Out of necessity, the Klijnen couple then stayed for some time with architect Koldeweij, who also lived in The Hague, eventually moving to 17 Hoogwerflaan. Another part of Klijnen's archive would later be lost to fire. Once Klijnen settled in The Hague, he received many commissions. He designed two schools and a nunnery in that city, built a residence in Delft and became involved in the restoration and remodeling of the Bonnefantenkazerne in Maastricht and the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk (the former St. Ursula Church) in Delft. During the years 1928 to 1952 Klijnen devoted himself almost exclusively to urban design. Klijnen did not become involved with architecture again until 1951, when he participated in the multiple commission for the design of a provincial government building for South Holland in The Hague. In the last years of his life, he continued to work on his design for a city hall in Amsterdam, the result of a competition in which he participated in 1967. Jos Klijnen died on January 5, 1973, a few days before his 86th birthday, at Ary van der Spuyweg 5 in The Hague. Architect and urban planner After 5 years of HBS in Maastricht, Klijnen studied at the Königliche Technische Hochschule in Aachen from 1905 to 1910. In 1908, he additionally spent six months in Munich, where he also studied architecture. On April 27, 1910, Klijnen concluded his education in Aachen with the German engineering diploma. After this, he left for the Netherlands for further education, where he left the Technische Hogeschool Delft in 1914 as an urban engineer. While studying in Delft, Klijnen worked for some time at the office of Jos. Cuypers' office in Amsterdam. After bidding farewell to the Rotterdam Department of Public Works in 1917 to establish himself as an independent architect, he would not relinquish solitary work until his death. However, he did have several connections within the world of architects, who provided him with commissions and with whom he also occasionally collaborated, such as Granpré Molière and Verhagen (1917- 1920s), Oud, Joseph Cuypers and again Verhagen in 1946. Jos. Cuypers contributed significantly to Klijnen's urban planning activities. With him, Klijnen served on Maastricht's beauty commission from 1920.6 Cuypers was charged with making a development plan for southern Limburg and had the right connections to introduce Klijnen to the Limburg municipalities.7 Klijnen's first official urban planning commission, an expansion plan for Heerlen, dates from 1928. In October 1946, Klijnen was appointed urban planning consultant for the reconstruction of Limburg at the intercession of Supervisor for Reconstruction in the Netherlands ir P. Verhagen. This appointment heralded a very hectic time for Klijnen. He held discussions with the architects involved in the reconstruction in this province and also had to coordinate their work. Characterization of the oeuvre Jos Klijnen showed himself to be an idiosyncratic designer in both the architectural and urban planning fields. Dynamics would characterize Klijnen's architecture until the very end. Although Klijnen's work can be called interesting and enjoys growing appreciation, he did not really make school. His architecture cannot be placed under the heading of one particular architectural movement. He wrote little. The big picture as a guide to detail Klijnen considered the infrastructure, the construction of new railroads and road networks or the improvement of old and good connections of the city with the surrounding districts, to be of primary importance for the prosperity of the population. The same applied to attracting new industry, provided it was located in the right place with respect to wind direction and location in relation to residential neighborhoods. Residential areas then had to be planned so that they would have the most logical and livable place within the urban structure. For Klijnen, the guiding principle in all of this was the aesthetic aspect, i.e., the "beautiful. Ultimately, urban planning was an artistic task with the goal of achieving a responsible aesthetic composition of road networks, buildings, water management and green spaces. After World War II, his ideas about architecture were nourished by the many experiences he gained as an urban designer. Although light and situation continued to play a role in his architecture, Klijnen's approach changed - he increasingly viewed his designs from the point of view of the urban planner. One of his somewhat cryptic propositions was that the counter-mold is more important than the mold. An interview with Klijnen in the Limburgs Dagblad can be considered a summary of his views on urban planning at the end of his career. In it, he said he always took aesthetics as his starting point and considered the city to be one big house, in which the roads form the corridors. The inhabitants should be able to orient themselves well here in order to feel comfortable. Thus, in Klijnen's work we see kinship both with older architects such as Berlage and with the young people around Forum magazine, who made their presence felt from the late 1950s onward. Associations During his long life, Jos Klijnen was active in several associations in the field of architecture and urban planning. In 1918 he became a member of Architectura et Amicitiae, from 1920 to 1932 he was a member of the association OPBOUW. He joined the Bond van Nederlandse Architecten (BNA) in 1923, where he served on the board of the Hague chapter for some time, and the Bond van Nederlandse Stedebouwkundigen (BNS) in 1935. At the BNA, he further served on the examination committee, the Committee of Information and the Committee of Admission of the Exhibition Board for Architecture and Related Arts. Klijnen also served on the jury for several competitions, including those of the association Bouwkunst en Vriendschap. Furthermore, he served on the beauty commission of Maastricht from 1920 to 1935 and on the beauty commission of Heerlen from 1933 to 1952.22 Contests Klijnen frequently participated in competitions. Although he did not always win any prizes, his entries were often the subject of discussion.23 His first competition design, for a building for the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten (1917-1918) in Berlage's Plan-Zuid in Amsterdam, was honored with a third prize and very favorable reviews. Having already passed the age of 80, he still participated in the competition for a city hall in Amsterdam in 1967. Although his entry was not awarded a prize, he continued to tinker with the design until his death. His competition design for a palace for the League of Nations in Geneva (1926-1927) was also unsuccessful; it did, however, cause a great deal of controversy in the (professional) literature. Slot Klijnen's work was the subject of much publicity during his lifetime. His designs were shown at exhibitions at home and abroad; the Rotterdamse Kunstkring even devoted a monographic exhibition to Klijnen in 1932. Nevertheless, he fell into oblivion at the end of his career. The fact that many of his buildings were not executed and that he published little will certainly have contributed to this, as well as his position as a (not always understood) loner. On Klijnen's 75th birthday in 1962, his former colleagues qualified him as an "inexhaustible creative creator," who shook designs effortlessly out of his sleeve. On that occasion, Granpré Molière spoke appreciatively of "the great Klijnen. Other positions: Prixvraag vereniging Bouwkunst en Vriendschap (juror)/1918;Prijsvraag vereniging Bouwkunst en Vriendschap (juror)/omreeksn 1924;Prijsvraag vereniging Bouwkunst en Vriendschap (juror)/1927;Studieprijsvraag tijdschrift Klei (juror)/1926;Gewestelijke kring Den Haag BNA (board member/;Examen-Commissie voorbereidend en definitief examen bouwkundig opzichter (member)/;Tentoonstelling voor Bouwkunst en verwwerwant kunsten Kurhaus Scheveningen (co-organizer)/1929;Commissie van toelating bij Tentoonstellingsraad voor Bouwkunst en aanvwerwant kunsten BNA](member)/1929;Opbouw (member)/ Honors: Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau/1957;Mention World Exhibition Paris/1925;Silver Medal of Honor Municipality of Heerlen/