(Bonas Essay by A.M. Boon, R. van Hout and A. van der Wel; abridged version) R. Romke de Vries (1908-1997) Architect of reconstruction The Hague architect Romke Romke de Vries (1908-1997) began his career as a young architect in the reconstruction industry. Although he kept his own office for half-days from 1938, he did not start his real practical work until well after 1945 with, among other things, the rebuilding of farms. During the occupation, he seriously prepared for the reconstruction and the future face of liberated Holland. He practiced his profession from a social and cultural commitment and also devoted himself in many fields besides his practice. In terms of style he must be counted among the post-war modernists. Even before the war, Romke got to know modern architecture through the internships he had in the period 1938-1942 at various architectural offices, such as Merkelbach & Karsten in Amsterdam, Elling in Amsterdam and Van Tijen & Maaskant in Rotterdam. Although postwar modernism was unmistakably modelled on the prewar modernism of the Nieuwe Bouwen movement, stylistically it was different. Emphasis was placed on external appearance and the specific conception of space. Also, the postwar approach allowed for a greater variety of forms and materials, giving modern architecture a friendlier appearance than the hard, rigid concrete-steel-and-glass architecture of the New Building. In this respect, his architecture is characteristic of his time. A modern form language, mostly executed in brick, with an openness translated into a strong relationship between inside and outside. But the interior was also very important to him, both the spatial effect and the decoration. In addition to ships, his oeuvre includes many residential buildings, from villas, old people's homes and apartment buildings to entire residential neighborhoods. He also designed a considerable number of schools and a number of offices and (dairy) factories. But he also did not shy away from smaller commissions such as renovations, often to his own work. That he was a busy man is obvious. His pace of work was exceptional. He probably could not have done all this without his wife B.C. van der Linden who, from 1940 until her death in 1986, ran the office and took care of all the financial and administrative work. Background and education Romke Romke de Vries was born as Romke de Vries on July 7, 1908. Already at a young age Romke de Vries stood out because of his talent for drawing. From his uncle Johan J.G. Temme in Enschede, at that time a well-known draughtsman and illustrator, little Romke received drawing lessons between 1918 and 1922. From 1921 to 1926 Romke de Vries attended the municipal Hogere Burger School (HBS) in Hengelo. From 1926 to 1930 Romke de Vries studied architecture at the Middelbare Technische School (MTS) in Leeuwarden. Between 1933 and 1938 he was supervisor-draughtsman and later chef-de-bureau at the Nieuwland & Van der Vegte firm, also in Leeuwarden. In 1938 Romke de Vries left for Amsterdam to study at the Academy of Architecture. In addition to these studies, he worked at bureau Merkelbach & Karsten in Amsterdam (1938-1940) and at bureau Van Tijen & Maaskant in Rotterdam (1940-1942). His main teacher at the academy was the traditionalist J.F. Berghoef (1903-1994). During this period of his education, Romke de Vries was influenced both by traditionalist ideas, and by the ideas of the Nieuwe Bouwen, of which Merkelbach, Karsten and Van Tijen were early proponents. Romke de Vries graduated in 1942. On the advice of his father, Romke de Vries began using his name in full during the war to avoid confusion with another architect De Vries, who was a member of the National Socialist Movement (NSB). He has continued to do this ever since. His son J.R. Romke de Vries made sure in the 1970s that this also became their official last name. Thus the architect's name became Romke Romke de Vries. Yacht and ship designer Romke de Vries was an enthusiastic racing sailor. In a boat designed by himself in the Vrijbuiterklasse he competed in many other races and won several prizes. In the early 1930s, after graduating from the MTS, he also began to study the principles of shipbuilding, with the goal of being able to design his own ships. His larger cabin yachts are notable for their spacious interiors. In many ships, partitions between the spaces obstruct the view, whereas in Romke de Vries they are kept partially open. Furthermore, the use of modern forms is striking there, for example in chairs and light fittings. The war years: farms It was very important for the food supply of the Dutch people that the farms, which had been destroyed or damaged by the violence of war, were rebuilt as quickly as possible. Thus arose the Bureau Wederopbouw Boerderijen, which gave Romke de Vries his first assignments as an independent architect. Traditionalism vs. New Building Romke de Vries saw himself as a proponent of the Nieuwe Bouwen, despite the fact that some of his works did betray traditionalist influences. Romke de Vries conducted research into the regional character of homes in the Netherlands. The aim was to record typical regional characteristics of houses in different parts of the Netherlands, so that when new buildings were built after the war, these characteristics would not be lost. Wanting to preserve the regional character of the newly built houses is typically the aim of the adherents of the Delft School. That Romke de Vries conducted this research shows that he was not a dogmatic supporter of the New Building, but was also receptive to Delft School ideas. After the war, interest in regional architecture waned. Much and fast construction was needed, so the focus was on new industrialized building methods. System construction As a result of the scarcity of traditional building materials such as wood and brick and the shortage of skilled craftsmen, great interest arose in system construction. The premise of system construction was to reduce the labor required on the construction site. In the early 1950s, system construction was popular in the Netherlands. In 1948, only 5% of new homes were still built with system construction. By 1950, it was already 19%. In 1955, the government stopped supporting system construction because it was thought that the housing shortage could be solved with traditional construction methods in the foreseeable future. Tramonta When Romke de Vries came into contact with the Tramonta system, the load-bearing facades were built in the traditional way. According to him, it was not pure to use both traditional construction methods and modern concrete structures within a system. Therefore, he adapted the system so that the load-bearing facades were also composed of concrete columns and beams, so that the supporting structure of the building as a whole was carried out as skeleton construction. In addition to the existing advantages of the Tramonta system, this also gave Romke de Vries great freedom in the layout of the front and rear facades. New school types After World War II, there was a huge shortage of school buildings. Due to the violence of war, 273 schools had been destroyed and 1,000 schools severely damaged. In rebuilding the country, housing was given priority well into the 1950s. Emergency schools, semi-permanent facilities or existing buildings temporarily converted as schools had to meet the need for kindergartens and elementary schools. Quantity took precedence over quality. Nevertheless, quality was considered from the beginning and there was an urge to innovate. Romke de Vries made the school and garden an inseparable whole of learning and playing opportunities and hoped that the teachers who would have to work with this school would make full use of the possibilities. He also hoped that, after the revision of the national standards, educational innovation would continue and the initiative of the Emmen municipality would come into its own. The work and rest corner, the outdoor classroom, avoiding the long corridor and instead creating a common school hall formed Romke de Vries' interpretation of educational renewal. These aspects are often found in his later school designs. After Reconstruction For Romke de Vries, the end of the reconstruction period also meant the end of the large building projects in which sometimes hundreds of houses were realized at once. Apart from a few additions to previously realized expansion districts, the assignments in the sixties concern much more small-scale projects. During this period he became increasingly involved in side activities. From 1969 his eldest son J.R. Romke de Vries was also part of the Romke de Vries firm of architects, with his own commissions and some collaborations. Since the side activities played an increasingly important role for Romke de Vries, he increasingly left the practical work to his son. When in June 1986 his wife died, Romke de Vries decided to put a stop to all his activities. His son continues the firm to this day together with the architect Groosman Jr. Romke de Vries died in The Hague on June 25, 1997. Education: Hogere Burger School (HBS), Hengelo/1921-1926;Middelbare Technische School (MTS), Leeuwarden/1926-1931;Academie van Bouwkunst, Amsterdam/1938-1942 Additional positions: De Poorters/member/1940-1947;Genootschap Architectura et Amicitia/member/1940-1982;Study Group HBO Delft//1942-1945;Core Group Study Group Housing Architecture/member and chairman/1942-1948, 1955-1963;Working Group on Streekkeigene of the Core Group Study Group Housing Architecture/secretary/1943-1946;Council of Five/member/1948;Committee on Decoration and Lighting of the Jubilee Committee//1948;Study Committee on Experimental School Building// 1950s;Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam and The Hague/teacher of VBO/1951-1973;Construction/editor member/1953-1979;Interpretation Committee RT 1955 BNA/member/1956-1962;BNA/member/1956-1968 (about);Association of Friends of Aerent//1957 (about);Supervisor districts Waldeck and Centrum West, The Hague//1957-1974;Society for Cultural Cooperation, The Hague/member/1958-1962;Liga Nieuw Beelden//1958-1965;Lighthouse Club Nederland/member and special member/1961-1981;Jury Experimental Housing Competition BNA/member/1962;Jury Distributing BNA competitions/member/1962;Commission for the preparation of the Welstandstoezicht Oostelijk Flevoland/member/1962-1963;Commission Welstandsverzorging Oostelijk Flevoland/member/1962-1963;Jury competition 'Werkelijk Wonen'/member/1963;Werkgroep Mijnsherenland//1964-1966;Welstandscommissie, Terneuzen/member and chairman/1964-1978;Jury competition 'Kamphuisjes'/member/1966;Jury competition Area station Mariahoeve, The Hague/member/1968-1969;Studiegroep Efficient Woningbouw//;Vereniging voor Culturele Samenwerking Pulchri, The Hague/member/;Lions, The Hague Center Department/member/;Haagsche Kunstkring/member/;Twentse Toneelvereniging/member/;K. Archive: NAi/ROMK