A. Pet (1885-1954) Antoon Pet was born in Purmerend on April 28, 1885. (1) His parents were Hendrik Pet and Aaltje Visser. Antoon soon came into contact with architecture since his father Hendrik Pet was a city carpenter of Amsterdam and engaged in complicated carpentry work such as at locks. Together with his father, Antoon worked on a complex with wooden houses, but as this took place in the time of the economic crisis it did not become a success.(2) On November 28, 1907 Antoon Pet married Alstje Kuikman (1882-1953) in Amsterdam where they went to live and where he worked as an architectural supervisor. From the marriage four children were born namely Hendrik (1908), Jakob Anton (1910), Antoon (1911) and Frederik Karel (1916), of whom Antoon jr. died in infancy. Around 1913 the Pet family moved to Utrecht, where Antoon Pet went to work as a technical civil servant at the Dienst Gemeentewerken Utrecht. From 1913 he participated in various (study) competitions, some of which were very successful. In addition to his work, he devoted much of his time to his hobby of photography. In 1919 Antoon Pet got work as an architect 1st class at the Department of Urban Development and Public Housing in The Hague and the family moved to The Hague. In 1931 he transferred to the Municipal Works Department where he continued to work until his retirement in 1951. Three years later he died on September 27, 1954 in The Hague at the age of 69. On September 29 he was buried at Westduin cemetery.(3) During Antoon Pet's time as an architect with the municipality, his job was not limited to architecture. In the early days when he worked at the Department of Urban Development and Public Housing, his task logically shifted toward urban planning and public housing as well. There he was mainly concerned with designing expansion districts. At the Municipal Works Department, he designed such diverse things as housing blocks, an outdoor school as well as a parking lot, a viaduct and several bridges. Incidentally, many of Antoon Pet's works are difficult to trace because they are in the name of the Municipal Works Department without further specification of architect. Antoon Pet's sons also all went into architecture. Hendrik Pet concentrated on the structural engineering side and was involved in elevator engineering, Jakob Anton became an architect and worked at PGEM, among others, and Frederik Karel became an architectural draughtsman at the Municipal Works Department in The Hague. This line also continued in the third and fourth generation. Education and apprenticeship Not much is known about Antoon Pet's education. Like many others at the time, he worked his way up slowly. During the time he lived in Amsterdam he was, among other things, an architectural supervisor. For example, he was superintendent for the construction of the Apenhuis in Artis.(4) Around 1913, Pet developed a clear interest in architecture and his name popped up in professional journals as a participant in (study) competitions. At that time he was working at the Dienst Gemeentewerken in Utrecht as a technical civil servant. It is possible that in addition to this work he further immersed himself in architecture but details about this are unknown.(5) Contests From 1923 Antoon Pet participated in many competitions. The subjects of these competitions were very diverse and were not limited to architecture but covered all facets of architecture: from the interior design of a mantelpiece to the extension of a city. In 1913, Antoon Pet entered the Garden City competition held by the Social Technical Association of Architects and Engineers under the motto "Light and Air. The jury included H.P. Berlage and P. Bakker Schut, under whom he would later work at the Department of Urban Development and Public Housing. Although the jury did not award the designs, Antoon Pet did win an amount of fl. 100,- , the second highest amount awarded. (6) In 1916 Antoon Pet entered the annual competition of the Vereeniging Bouwkunst en Vriendschap and made a design for a double school under the motto "Fred. His design was awarded second prize.(7) In 1918 he won first prize in a competition held by the Vereeniging ter Bevordering der Bouwkunst for his design of a temporary restaurant under the motto 'white and black'. In the jury report, the jury said, among other things, the following: 'The main form of the plan is good (...) The entrance has merit. The character of a temporary restaurant is well expressed in the building, the composition is very happy. The color is witty, yet bold. The interior is gloomy in the cross-section, but gives a very favorable impression in the perspective drawing, also in terms of color. The drawing work is very smooth. (8) Antoon Pet also won awards in other competitions. For example, he won first prize in a competition for the design of a tiled mantelpiece and for the Design of an Entry in natural stone for the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht; this was to be a structure made of natural stone for the open air in which the advantages of using natural stone would be made clear. Even during the time when he was already working at the Department of Urban Renewal and Public Housing, Pet still participated in competitions. For example, he won the second prize for a plan to expand The Hague-West in 1922 under the motto "City and Beach."(9) This was an important competition organized by the Municipality of The Hague to come up with a plan to expand The Hague westward. Finally, he won a third prize for the construction of the corner Reinkestraat/Kranenburgweg in 1926 under the motto 'Collonnade'. (10) Whether any designs were executed is not known. Werkkring From October 1, 1919 to September 1, 1930, Antoon Pet worked as an architect first class at the Department of Urban Development and Public Housing in The Hague. This service was created in 1918 as a split off from the Gemmentewerken service. The tasks of the Urban Development and Housing Department are very comprehensive, in particular management of the Land Company, the Municipal Housing Service and the Municipal Housing Exchange; preparation, establishment and modification of expansion and street plans, traffic and streetcar routes; management of municipal land; management of municipal housing; the production and maintenance of maps of the municipality; advice and making proposals for the improvement of public housing or to promote urban expansion and housing. During Antoon Pet's time at the Urban Development and Housing Department, he often worked with architect W. Greve under director P. Bakker Schut. Together they worked on the design and execution of large expansion districts where many municipal housing act houses were created. The largest expansion districts with municipal housing are Spoorwijk in The Hague and Duindorp near Scheveningen. Architecturally, these expansion districts may not have been a huge challenge, as austerity of architecture was a requirement to receive State subsidy. Nevertheless, the large number of dwellings made it possible to achieve urban uniformity and satisfaction. This uniformity also extended to the private houses because the facades of these houses were built according to facade schemes designed by Pet and Greve. Similarly, in the private neighborhood of Laakkwartier in The Hague, the facades of the main streets were designed by Antoon Pet and all other houses in the neighborhood were built according to his facade scheme.(11) From September 1, 1930 until his retirement in 1951, Pet worked at the serve Gemeentewerken in The Hague. This service has existed since 1890, then called Gemeentewerf. The service is headed by a scientifically trained engineer and further consists of architect, sub-architect, supervisor, foreman, office clerk and the workmen. The duties of the Municipal Works Department include construction and management of hydraulic engineering works, municipal buildings and utility works; demolition of buildings; supervision of urban extensions and implementation of street plans. At the Municipal Works Department, Antoon Pet worked on several designs. He took care of the aesthetic finishing of the Schenk viaduct and designed the first Nederlandsche Buitenschool. He designed several bridges in which he collaborated with sculptor John Raedecker, among others. He also designed a parking lot near the boulevard in Scheveningen and housing blocks on the Vondelstraat. Characterization and development of his oeuvre As already mentioned, Antoon Pet's oeuvre is very varied and covers the entire field of architecture: from urban plans, urban extensions, housing blocks, a restaurant, schools, bridges and a parking lot to a mantelpiece. In addition to this variety in designs, there also seems to be a variation in styles: from austere and taditional brick housing, through houses in transitional style with influences of different styles, to modern designed concrete houses with mosaics and Berlagian housing or from a monumental and angular housing block to a round and expressive building. The houses in Duindorp and Spoorwijk (12) do not possess extreme stylistic features. In fact, this austerity of architecture was a requirement to receive a subsidy from the Ministry of Labor. In my opinion, the houses in Spoorwijk can be characterized as traditional architecture. The houses are characterized by brick facades with small openings and sloping roofs with tiles. The corners and entrances are emphasized with sloping brick piers. The houses in Duindorp differ in certain respects from those in Spoorwijk and thus can no longer be characterized as purely traditional. For example, flat roofs have been applied in Duindorp. There are also clear references to the Amsterdam School especially at the porch entrances. It is interesting to compare these houses with the concrete houses on Westduinweg. (13) With their modern appearance, these semi-permanent houses look completely different from the traditional houses. With the concrete facades, roof overhangs, colored mosaics and wooden parts in the facades, they are architecturally elaborate and refer to other movements in architecture. Thus, in my opinion, you can see similarities with housing projects of J.P. Oud but also with the on with expressionism of Antoni Gaudi, for example. Finally, if you look at the houses in Laakkwartier-Centraal they can be traced back to yet another style. Urban planning here is in my opinion a Berlagian plan with clear main axes and squares and monumental buildings that accentuate these axes and squares. The buildings that are not located along the main axes are based on a fixed facade scheme and have to a greater or lesser extent the characteristics of the New Hague School. (14) Another interesting comparison is between the monumental housing block on Vondelstraat (1929-1931) and a competition design for the construction of Reinkestraat (1927). The housing block on Vondelstraat comes across as quite traditional with its flat rigid brick facade. The building is very monumental and angular.(15) The height accents at the corners are reminiscent of Berlage. Only in the detailing of the windows a reference to the Amsterdam School can be found in the horizontal rod division. If one compares this housing block with the competition entry for the construction of Reinkestraat under the motto "colonnade" by Antoon Pet, one sees major differences. (16) In this housing block there is much more evidence of Amsterdam School architecture with round forms, a corner tower, balconies that stand expressively outside the facade plane and the typical transition from facade to roof. In conclusion, in my opinion it is impossible to place Pet's work within one architectural movement. This is for the following reasons. First, he is influenced by the ever-changing views of architecture. For example, you can see that over the years he works out a housing complex in different ways. Secondly, it also appears that when Pet starts working with a new material he immediately chooses a whole new language of form. For example, the concrete houses were built around the same time as the brick houses in Duindorp, but they are completely different in appearance. Thirdly, there is also a difference in the work Pet does for the municipality where he has to deal with many restrictive factors and his freer work in competitions. For example, in designing a housing block for the municipality at the same time, he arrives at a monumental and traditional block in Vondelstraat while in a competition for the construction of Reinkestraat he sends in an expressive and Amsterdam School-based design. The First Dutch Outdoor School In May 1930, by a decision of the Council of the Municipality of The Hague, the Eerste Nederlandsche Buitenschool became a public school for primary education. (17) Initially, the Municipality placed a used school pavilion at the location on Doornikschestraat in Scheveningen so that it became possible to teach 50 children. In May 1931, the school became part of the municipality and new building plans were made concrete. In May 1932 the new building was started. Based on a design by A. Pet, the new building was completed in June 1933. The new building consisted of four classrooms, a gymnasium, rooms for staff, recesses and an examination house. In addition, the existing school pavilion was converted into a dining hall and an extra dune pan was constructed so that teaching could take place in four dune pans in the summer. This created a school for one hundred students. The school was intended for tuberculosis patients and therefore differed from a normal school in terms of daily schedule. In addition to education, the children ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and rested in the recess halls at noon. During vacations, the children also attended all day. While making the building plans, the budget for construction was cut to almost half. This resulted in a rather austere but successful building as evidenced by the director's opinion: 'All praise to the master builder, Gem. architect Pet, who has managed to create such a harmonious whole with simple means.' (18) For example, a cheerful color scheme for the classrooms was developed in collaboration with the teachers. Even the corridor, with its simple stained-glass windows, gives a distinguished impression. The entire building is well thought out which is reflected in the details. For example, special windows were developed so that light and air can penetrate the building as far as possible. Hygienic requirements have also been thought through in detail. For example, the chairs, tables, loungers, capes and slippers are all numbered, and there is room in the dining room for a hundred numbered toothbrushes and cups. Outside, two concrete mushrooms after Pet's unterp have even been placed where fifty cups of milk can each be placed. The building is also detailed so that everything is easy to clean. The building is constructed of gray brick and has large slender openings of steel with glass at the classrooms. The austere appearance has kept the building subordinate to the natural dune landscape and preserved the core of the school, the dune pans. Housing complex Duindorp The Duindorp neighborhood was built between 1915 and 1930 in a dune area near Scheveningen. (19) The district's isolated location in the middle of the dunes is striking. The district can be divided into two parts. First, the eastern part was created adjacent to the Drainage Canal. These three closed building blocks with closed courtyards were realized from 1916 to 1917 to a design by W. Greve and G. Albers. Later from 1920 to 1930, the second part was created to a design by W. Greve and Antoon Pet. The buildings in this section consist of open building blocks with connected buildings in which square-shaped spaces are sometimes created by receding the building line. The street plan runs parallel to the coast with the exception of the main access road, the Tesselstraat. Together with the district's main artery, Pluvierstraat, this street has a wider construction than the other streets. At the intersection of the two streets is the only square in Duindorp, and stores can also be found here. Duindorp consists partly of municipal houses, partly of private houses and of public buildings. The municipality has built single-family houses, storey houses and ground floor and upstairs houses here. Originally, the idea was to build only single-family houses but due to lack of space and money, this proved not feasible. The Municipal Housing Act houses are very austere in design. For the houses with a low rental value, this was even a requirement to obtain a contribution from the Ministry of Labor. Because of this, there are also wenig special stylistic features. The houses are built of brick and have flat roofs. At the storey houses, references to the Amsterdam School can be seen at the porches. Some porches have an arch construction other porches are marked by protruding round balconies, which are placed above the porches. Because private homes were also realized based on facade schemes by W. Greve and A. Pet, there was a very homogeneous image. The large number of dwellings allowed a satisfactory urban planning solution to be reached. The isolated location combined with the uniform character of the buildings make this district special. Concrete houses on the Westduinweg In 1920, the municipality of The Hague experimented with concrete houses for the first time. The reason for this experiment was a scarcity in both materials and labor. Eight double test houses were built on the Statenlaan, each with a different system. In 1921, this trial was followed by the construction of the concrete houses on Westduinweg in granular concrete, the system that had satisfied the best. This system had been developed by Pet's colleague at the Department of Urban Development and Public Housing W. Greve. The houses are two stories high and have a slight roof overhang. Notable is the use of mosaic and tile block band decoration and the wedge-shaped bay windows with a scalloped center frame applied at some corners. The street endings have also received additional elaboration that includes the use of wooden sections. These houses hardly resemble the brick houses designed by Pet during the same time. In this work, the influences of J.P. Oud are clearly visible in my opinion and one can even refer to expressionist architecture such as that of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. In the book 'Bouwen in beton', M. Kuipers states about W. Greve: 'At the SO/VH department he mostly worked together with another architect (...), from 1919 to 1913 also with A. Pet. However, Greve was the only architect in municipal service involved in the experimental concrete houses in Scheveningen.' (20) However, a drawing from the archives of the Pet family shows that the design was by Pet. Slot Antoon Pet's work covers all areas of architecture but with an emphasis on housing. It is likely that there are other works attributable to him that he designed as an architect with the municipality, but which have been preserved not under his name but under the name of the municipality. It may be interesting to investigate this further. Antoon Pet's work cannot be unequivocally captured in one particular style. The influence of architectural movements, use of new materials such as concrete and the sometimes restrictive factor of working for the municipality have created a very diverse body of work with both austere and expressive works. Notes: 1) Person card ARA, Bureau of Genealogy. 2) Interview of Jeroen Koomen with F.K. Pet, son of Antoon Pet, dd July 7, 1997 in The Hague. 3) Haagse Courant, September 30, 1954, page 9. 4) Interview of Jeroen Koomen with F.K. Pet, son of Antoon Pet, dd July 7, 1997 at The Hague. 5) How Pet worked his way up to architect is unclear. In Bouwkundig Weekblad 1918 on page 128 there is mention of Mr. Ant. Pet, architect in Utrecht. This is the first time Pet is mentioned as an architect. And in 1919 he is hired at the Municipality of The Hague as architect first class. 6) Social-Technical Association of Engineers and Architects (ed.), passim. 7) The competition is won by L.C. van der Vlugt but because of the slight difference in quality of the prize winners, the jury proposes to distribute the cash prizes differently. For competition see: Architectura 1917,39-40; De Bouwereld 1917,31-32. 8) De Bouwwereld 1918,368. Bouwkundig Weekblad 1918,235-236. 9) Bakker Schut, 1922, passim. 10) Van Rood,428-430. 11) Van der Hoeve,187 12) Bakker Schut, 1939, passim. 13) Bakker Schut, 1939, passim. 14) Van der Hoeve,187 15) Koopmans,99. 16) Bouwkundig Weekblad 1928,86-87. 17) Wagner, passim. 18) Wagner,127. 19) Van der Hoeve,130-134. 20) Kuipers,173 Bibliography: Anonymous, Jury report of competitions 'Architecture and Friendship', Architectura, 25(1917)6,39-40. Anonymous, Jury report. (Excerpt). 'Architecture and Friendship' contests', The Building World, 16(1917)4,31-32. Anonymous, Study Contest 1918. A design of a temporary restaurant, issued by the 'Vereniging tot bevordering der Bouwkunst' in Utrecht, De Bouwwereld, 17(1918)42,368. Anonymous, Study Contest 1918. A design of a temporary restaurant, issued by the 'Vereniging tot bevordering der Bouwkunst' in Utrecht, Bouwkundig Weekblad, 39(1918)41, 235-236. Anonymous, Jury report on the answers received to the competition for the construction of a central point in the IJ-bosch, Architecture Weekly, 39(1918)21,127-128. Anonymous, Competition for the construction of the site on Reinkestraat, near the Laan van Meerdervoort in The Hague, Architectural Weekly, 49(1928)11,86-87. Bakker Schut, P., Price competition for expansion plan 's-Gravenhage-West, Tijdschrift voor Volkshuisvesting, 3(1922)9,219-226. Bakker Schut, P., De volkshusvesting te 's-Gravenhage 1914- 1939, Alphen aan den Rijn 1939,55-82. Hoeve, J.A. van der (et al.), Monuments Inventory Project The Hague 1850-1940, The Hague 1992,130-134,186-191. Koopmans, B., Architecture and urban planning in The Hague 1850-1940, Zwolle 1994,99. Kuipers, M., Building in concrete, Amsterdam 1987,173-174,185-187. Rood, A.H. van, Jury report competition building Reinkestraat hoek Kranenburgweg te 's-Gravenhage, Bouwkundig Weekblad Architectura, 48(1927)49,428-430. Social-Technical Society of Democratic Engineers and Architects (ed.), Competition for the design of a Garden City neighborhood, Amsterdam 1915. Wagner, J.J., "The First Dutch Outdoor School," Against Tuberculosis!, 29(1933)5,122-133. Jeroen Koomen October 29, 1997 Additional positions: Dienst Stadsontwikkeling en Volkshuisvesting van de Gemeente Den Haag/architect eerste klasse/1919-1930;Dienst Gemeentwerken van de Gemeente Den Haag/architect eerste klasse/1930 to 1951 Archives: Archive family of A. Pet/