Biographical sketch H.F. Mertens (1885-1960) Hermann Friedrich Mertens was born on August 15, 1885, on the island of Java in Indonesia. His parents were from Germany. In addition to Hermann Friedrich, the Mertens couple had one more daughter named Annie. At the age of thirteen, H.F. Mertens left for the Netherlands, as his parents thought he would receive a better education in this country. Once he arrived in the Netherlands, he went to live with a teacher in Leeuwarden. After a few years, however, he moved to Haarlem to successfully complete the HBS. In 1905, Mertens began studying architecture at the Technical High School in Delft. During his student days, he was a member of the "Delft Student Corps" and became friends with, among others, his fellow student M.J. Granpré Molière. In 1909, Mertens graduated and went to work as a designer at the furniture store 'Mutters' in Amsterdam. During this period, he met Marie Antoinette (Mies) Krone, whom he would marry a year later. They had three children; Friedrich Heinrich (Hans; born 06-04-1912), Bruno (born 10-07-1914) and Hermann Friedrich (Herman; born 02-03-1921). After Mertens worked at the furniture store "Mutters" for a few months, he went to work at the architectural firm of Posthumus Meyjes. In 1911, Mertens was offered a permanent contract at the furniture factory Labor Omnia Vincit (L.O.V.) in Oosterbeek. For this factory, of which he became deputy director in 1913, he designed a large number of pieces of furniture and a furniture showroom. Mertens left the furniture factory in 1916 to work as deputy director of the Municipal Works Department in Arnhem. During this period, he designed the Tamboersbosjesschool, as the Dr. P.C.M. Bosschool was popularly called in Arnhem. In 1917, Mertens moved to Utrecht, where he went to work for the Nationale Bankvereeniging whose headquarters were located in Utrecht. The bank buildings he designed for his new employer were discussed in various magazines. In 1918, Mertens joined the society Architectura et Amicitia. The periodicals published by the society over time included Architectura, Wendingen, Bouwkundig Weekblad and Forum. In 1922, Mertens established himself as an independent architect in Bilthoven. The 'Nationale Bankvereeniging', later 'Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging', remained one of his largest clients. He also designed stores, association buildings, factories, residential houses and several water towers, among other things. In collaboration with the N.V. Aannemingsmaatschappij H.F. Boersma of The Hague, Mertens designed 78 houses according to the Isotherme system for the Tuindorp Watergraafsmeer in Amsterdam, also known as Betondorp. These houses were completed in 1924. Mertens also designed the sanatorium Zonnegloren in Soestduinen, the bread factory De Korenschoof in Utrecht and three buildings (in Rotterdam, Utrecht and Hengelo) for the Coöperatieve Groothandelsvereeniging De Handelskamer, among others. His most famous building was the Unilever headquarters in Rotterdam. The wedge-shaped building of Unilever (next to the NAi) now serving as the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, was designed by Mertens between 1929 and 1930. The facades made a closed impression and were characterized by square brown brick. The office spaces of the building were originally open, interrupted only by a double row of columns in the center of the space. Very innovative was that enclosed spaces could be created using movable walls. In 1940, Mertens was commissioned to design a new headquarters for the Rotterdamsche Bankvereenging on the Coolsingel in Rotterdam. This was the first significant building constructed in downtown Rotterdam after the bombing. After the war, Mertens was appointed supervisor for the reconstruction of part of Rotterdam's inner city. He also designed several more buildings for various clients. In 1955, Mertens left the management of his architectural firm to his youngest son, H.F. Mertens Jr.