J.J. de Graaf (1924-1987) Probably no one who worked in the architectural world is as unknown as Joop de Graaf, even though he worked with the most famous architect: Le Corbusier. For him, De Graaf calculated the construction of the Philip Pavilion for the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels. This became the striking building in which Edgar Varèses's Poème Electrique was performed and film footage of S. Eisenstein was shown. Another reason why De Graaf is not counted among the famous architects is his teaching. From 1956 until his death in 1987, as a lecturer at various courses, he tried to make his students understand the advantages of the integral design process and integrated building design. J.J. de Graaf was able to make the technical profession of structural engineer his own along the long road of education, courses and self-study. The courses he took at TU Delft included technical subjects such as applied mechanics, utility construction and foundations. At the Foundation for Materials Knowledge he took the courses in modern calculation tools and calculation methods, at the Foundation Building in Steel it was the course in failure analysis. On his own initiative, for example, he conducted studies in the fields of logic, geometry, form theory and Islamic mathematics. He pursued these studies in addition to his work. In the period 1946-1956, De Graaf worked as an architectural draftsman at the office of D. Roosenburg, at S.J. van Embden as an architectural draftsman-constructor and at W.S. van den Erve as chef de bureau. This period was followed by one in which De Graaf worked independently. From 1956 until 1966 he ran the architectural and engineering firm Ritter and De Graaf with Ritter. In 1966 he started his own structural engineering firm. From 1960 he was also a lecturer at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. The academy of the same name in Tilburg soon followed and he was asked for several courses, culminating in a guest lectureship at the TU in Delft. For more than 25 years he taught. In all those years he tried to bring to life for his students the world of structural design. It was his wish that architects enter into dialogue with structural engineers. A quote in which he most clearly expresses his ideas about this is from the lecture he gave on the occasion of his 25th anniversary at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. The quote is also quoted in the introduction to the inventory of his archive at the NAi. '...architecture or design can be defined as the art of constructing buildings, which in terms of durability, beauty and economy can fulfill the specific functions for which they are intended. Achieving this requires that the components of form (designer)-construction (technique; the material and the way the designer handles it)-function (use) form a close unit that is always involved in the conception or artistic vision. The interrelationship of these three and the share that the individual components contribute to the whole therefore determine the specific character of the design.' When De Graaf started his own structural engineering firm in 1966, he received a lot of work from his former students. These included Social Workshops in Heemstede, system houses in Schalkwijk and telephone exchanges in Beverwijk and IJmuiden. In the process, like another structural engineer, J.G.Wiebenga, he remained in the background. Education: Mulo A and B/;MTS Bouwkunde/1941-1945;real estate broker/1948;higher mathematics PBNA/1954;TH Delft/;HTI Amsterdam/1965-1966;Foundation Materials Knowledge/;Foundation Center Building in Steel/;Foundation Center Building in Steel/. Outside activities: Academy of Architecture Amsterdam/teacher/1960-1987;Academy of Architecture TIlburg/teacher/1962-1987;Institute of Architecture Utrecht/teacher and coordinator/1966-1987;Rietveld Academy/guest lecturer/1966-1987;Art Academy Artibus Utrecht/guest lecturer/1966-1987;TU Delft/guest lecturer/1966-1987