(abridged version Bonas Essay) A.A. van Hemert (1891-1970) Aloysius Adrianus (Louis) van Hemert was born in Heusden on July 25, 1891. Louis, as Aloysius Adrianus was called as a child, grew up "in the midst of a rural tranquility and beauty. There was a trade school in The Hague, and father Van Hemert was very fond of his children learning. When Louis was eleven, he stopped it in the last year of elementary school, because that diploma was not required for enrollment at the Craft School. Since the Craft School did not start until spring, Louis attended the Evening Teeken School of the Roman Catholic People's Union during the winter in between. This school was one of many initiatives by the Catholic upper class to promote the level of Catholic working-class boys. On April 9, 1905, Louis received a diploma and third prize for the preparatory class. That same spring he was enrolled at the Craft School as an apprentice carpenter. At the same time as the Crafts School, Louis still attended the Evening Teeken School, where he obtained very good results. On April 14, 1908, Van Hemert received his final diploma at the Crafts School and started looking for work.It was thanks to the drawing school that Van Hemert got his first contact with the office of the State Building Department. After his training, Van Hemert found work from April to August 1908 on the construction of the Municipal School on Groenesteinstraat in The Hague. This was short-lived, and since he ran out of work, he started working in the extension of the family's home and made his own furniture. In October of the same year, Van Hemert received word from Vrijman's office that there was work for him as a tracer in Delft. He was appointed and paid for this by the State.At the same time, Van Hemert still attended the lessons of the Evening Teekenschool, and in April 1909 he obtained the first prize at the fourth class section A (drawing) and the final diploma of the fourth class section B (architecture). In the same spring, when he was only seventeen, he received another call from the State and came to work in the field service as superintendent of piling, at the building of the Faculty of Mining Engineering of the Techinsche Hogeschool in Delft. In July 1909 he received an appointment as an extraordinary supervisor with a salary of sixty guilders per month. Then his career really began. A very busy time began for Van Hemert. He had achieved his dream and enrolled in evening courses at the Academy on Prinsessengracht. On December 13, 1914, Van Hemert met his future wife, Annie Terhell (1897-1966); she was only seventeen and a costume seamstress in a workshop on the Papestraat. The following year he worked for the Empire while simultaneously finishing his studies at the Academy. He received the diploma (Md) at the Academy of Fine Arts on August 7, 1915. Therefore, the following year he was able to work as a drawing teacher at the evening school "Society of Friends St. Pancratius," while during the day he was working at the State. He also entered a competition for the commemorative plate of the Institute Haagsche Teekenaars, where he won the second prize. In the years 1917 and 1918, Van Hemert was busy getting his second diploma (Me) at the Academy of Visual Arts. On May 1, 1919, he became superintendent first class. In this year, his collaboration began on the restoration of Nyenrode Castle under the direction of state architect H.A. van Heeswijk. On April 19, 1920, he was appointed an architectural officer first class. In the same year, he was hired as a teacher of architectural drawing at the Evening Course for Secondary Technical Education at the Academy of Fine Arts. He would teach in the Academy, with several weekly classes, until his retirement in 1956. On Jan. 5, 1925, he married his fiancée Annie Terhell. In the years 1924-1925, Van Hemert designed several objects for his own use: an armchair, six oak chairs, a cabinet, a table, a pendant lamp, a dresser, a closet with a double bed and a mirror. He drew a crib for their first child, Paul, in September 1925. The family then had two boys, Guus (1927) and Hans (1929) and, in 1930, twins, Ursula and Odilia. In 1927, Van Hemert entered a competition held by the municipality of Wassenaar for the construction of a water tower with a design under the motto: "Hollandsch Duin. Of the 184 designs submitted, Van Hemert appeared fairly high up in the selection with number sixteen. Member of the jury was state architect Bremer, who did not yet know Van Hemert personally. Thanks to his high qualities as an interior designer, Van Hemert was chosen by Bremer to collaborate on the renovation of the Supreme Court building on the Plein in The Hague, a design by government architect W.N. Rose (1801-1877). On Jan. 27, 1931, he abruptly ended his work in Leiden. The restoration of the Aula of the University of Utrecht (1934-1936) became one of Van Hemert's most important assignments. Already in 1922 he had made drawings of the auditorium and a design for the interior, commissioned by government architect Vrijman. The restoration was continued by state architect H.A. van Heeswijk. When Bremer took over, Van Hemert was commissioned to provide new furniture. In the month of April 1938, Van Hemert received his appointment as chief architectural officer.On May 9, 1939, the Supreme Council was finally festively opened and Van Hemert, at Bremer's side, received great praise and admiration. A year later, on May 10, Germany unexpectedly invaded the Netherlands. On May 14, Rotterdam was bombed. Times were hard: in January 1942, a general relocation took place at the Office of the Government Buildings Agency, because 40 percent of the stoves had to be extinguished due to fuel shortages. Later, sometimes, for the same reason, people stopped going to work. Although many departments were evacuated, the Rijksgebouwendienst in The Hague remained open with the exception of a few subdivisions. Bremer tried to find work to prevent members of his staff from being put to work at the Arbeitseinsatz in Germany. He ordered them to measure historically important buildings, so in 1943 Van Hemert went with two draftsmen to Dordrecht and to 's-Hertogenbosch to measure the Gouvernementsgebouw, among other buildings. Finally on May 4, 1945, the Netherlands was liberated. Van Hemert resumed classes at the Academy and on July 6 he went to Paasloo to bring the children back home. During the war, he had worked on the design of a monument in memory of the inventor of the plaster bandage Antonius Mayhijse (1805-1878). The monument was unveiled on Sept. 24, 1946. January 1946, government architect Bremer had retired and he was succeeded by H. Hoekstra (1881-1960) and six months later by G. Friedhoff (1892-1970). On June 18, 1946, Van Hemert received the appointment as state architect. One of his first projects, between 1947 and 1948, was the repair of several Forest Service forester's houses. Van Hemert requested his resignation as a teacher at the Academy of Visual Arts and this was granted on Aug. 1, 1956, after 36 years of faithful service. The same day he also retired as chief architect with the State Building Department. The last act for the National Building Service was, on May 19, 1960, placing the national coat of arms of Flushing on the customs building he designed. He was then almost sixty-nine years old. In September 1960, Van Hemert arranged for the painting of the church O.L.V. Tenhemelopneming in Voorburg, near his home. The church was being renovated and Van Hemert, conscientious as ever, sought information from TNO in Delft about possible paint for the interior. Due to heart problems, van Hemert died in the summer of 1970, on August 24. Education: Ambachtsschool Den Haag/1905-1908;Avond-Teekenschool Rooms-katholieke Volksbond Den Haag (section A and B)/1902-1909;Academie Beeldende Kunsten Den Haag (diploma Md and Me)/1909-1918 Additional positions: Academy of Fine Arts evening course in Secondary Technical Education/teacher of architectural drawing/1916-1956;Committee on extension of National Institute of Public Health/member/1949;Standardization Committee of wood (Ti)/member/1952;architectural training examination BNA/examiner/1932 (from);Ministry of Finance/teacher of architecture/1945;Standardization Committee of wood/member on behalf of National Building Service/1953;Tax Office examination building course/examiner/1956;building course for tax officials (Ministry of Finance)/teacher/1954, 1959;building committee Sint-Maartenlyceum Voorburg/advisor/1956 Honors: Officer Order of Nassau/1956 Archives: NAi/HEME