A characteristic of Pieter Berger's work is that, with a few exceptions, the designs fit entirely within the prevailing architectural ideas of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The residential houses of the 1960s exhibit the coarse detailing, wide wooden roof moldings, flat roofs and boxy volumes, which were in vogue at the time. The homes, libraries and shopping centers of the 1970s and 1980s show the many bulges, indentations, truncated hoods, staircases and terraces that were so widely used at the time. But also the system construction that emerged in the sixties and the development of building modules and their subsequent application in a repetitive image is no stranger to Berger's work. In the approximately thirty years, which Pieter Berger has been active as an architect, he has realized a large number of works. A striking number of residential houses and libraries appear in the oeuvre. But the oeuvre is broader: shopping centers, factory halls and industrial buildings, schools, furniture and interior designs. Pieter Berger was born in Schaarsberg, Limburg, on Feb. 12, 1924, the son of a mining doctor. After being educated at the HTS in Heerlen, Berger went on to study at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. He completed his VBO education in 1952, his HBO education in 1956. During his study years at the Academy, Berger founded an architectural firm with two friends, Ton Alberts, later known for realizing such anthroposophic works as the office for the ING in Amsterdam and the office for the Gasunie in Groningen, and Har Oudejans. During their studies, this trio produced a number of designs for mostly private clients. From the surviving material it is clear that the trio had a clear affection for the aesthetic principles of De Stijl. Four surviving facade fragments show a preference for the incidental use of the colors red, yellow and blue, within a non-symmetrical division of planes in shades of gray. After their studies, each went his or her own way. Berger founded an architectural firm in Utrecht almost immediately after completing his studies. This was the architecture firm P. Berger B.V. The firm saw the light of day in 1958 and closed its doors in 1983. Most of the drawings and plans made have been preserved and are stored in the basement of the former P. Berger architectural firm. Unfortunately, part of the original drawings and plans have suffered irreparable water damage. This volume mainly covers the period 1965-1970, 1974- 1977 and occasionally a project from another year. This work provides an overview of all the works that were traceable from the material in the above-mentioned basement. Resistance to the established order 'Raised' under the yoke of functionalism, the dominant movement during Berger's training at the academy, Berger, like many of his contemporaries, sought to resist precisely this functionalism. The functionalist formula of 'light, space and the separation of functions', which by the late 1950s had become almost an inescapable dogma, was rejected as a pointless hypothesis because it lacked social content.1 Instead of being concerned with the outside of architecture, an architect should, according to Aldo van Eyk and others, be concerned with the inside of architecture: make each house a city and each city a house.2 In the Netherlands, opposition to the prevailing functionalism played out mainly within Forum, the journal of the society Architectura et Amicitia. In the year 1959, just two years after Berger's graduation, there is an important upheaval in the journal's editorial board. The established order leaves the editorial board and makes way for a new generation of architects led by Van Eyk. In the first issue under his editorship, Van Eyk speaks of "the other living" and "another thought. There had to be more user-oriented design. The architect had to ensure that people would (again) feel comfortable in their surroundings.3 It goes without saying that this opposition to functionalism led to a new movement within architecture. In the literature, the reaction to Functionalism is called Structuralism and Van Eyk is seen as one of the most important proponents of this Structuralism. Van Eyk was therefore a great example of the architects of the Forum generation, which translated Van Eyk's ideas into austere, geometric patterns of organization.4 Berger's work and ideas, as we will see later, fit within Structuralism, which is characterized by, among other things: - tailoring the living and working environment to specifically human needs. This by researching these needs and then tailoring the use of space optimally to them; - designing both spaces for the personal privacy of residents and places that are, as it were, 'natural' meeting places. This is expressed, for example, in the use of niches in a wall, in which one can isolate oneself, or walls in a hallway, on which one can easily sit down to observe passers-by or hold a conversation; - convert the rigid monofunction of residential areas, originating from the CIAM idea, into a mixture of functions; - showing the construction allows the user to see how the building is made. Furthermore, in some cases it can even be said that the aim has been to make the construction as visible as possible. This manifests itself in a 'beefed up' construction: a construction in which more material is used for the visible parts than would be constructively necessary; - the excessive detailing in order to stimulate a multifunctional use. On the one hand, this is expressed in the aforementioned niches in a wall and half-high walls in a hall, and on the other hand, spaces were more spacious than strictly necessary given the function of the space. A school hall, for example, could also be used to put on a show.5 As early as the 1960s, architectural literature notes a tendency to find more and more architectural details and solutions, which possess not only technical but also emotional value. This trend is illustrated by examples of dwellings, which are praised for their allure, large dimensions, expressive effect and robust character of the architectural elements: a wooden eaves around the building mass, atria, square and rectangular floor plans, staggered or not, and the merging of the different spaces.6 The houses designed by Berger are therefore truly "children" of their time: coarse details, often in wood accentuate both the facade and the interior of the design, frequent use of atria and -with a few exceptions- only use of square and rectangular floor plans are the visual characteristics of these houses. Villas The first project carried out by architectural firm P. Berger B.V. is a simple residential house in Meerssen. Later it turns out that this project had a great impact on the residential houses, but especially on the many villas that the firm would later design. The designs for villas can be divided into three groups. First, there are designs for villas where the walls, which on the first floor separate the various functions, bear a box-like element, which generally contains the bedrooms of the house. Within the architect's vision, it was important, that in the detailing of the transition between the load-bearing walls of the first floor and the box-shaped element, the box-shaped element appears to float and that the individual volumes (both of the box-shaped element, and of the load-bearing walls) are not affected in form. This is to indicate a clear separation between the private (sleeping) part of the house and the more public living level on the first floor. The best examples of this thinking are the 1958 house in Meerssen and the 1967 house for Pelt in Driebergen. In the 1958 home, a white box-shaped element seemingly floats above a number of clean masonry walls. The 1967 house uses the same concept, only the appearance has been adapted to the time: the white stucco has been replaced by wooden parts; the dividing walls, which on the first floor level allow the spaces to flow into each other, have been extended over the terrace and even into the garden, in order to act as a space dividing element there as well. Second, there are designs for villas, in which different box-like volumes flow into each other. Perhaps the best example of this is residential house Kazikowski at Driebergen 1971. This house consists of two box-shaped volumes, different in size in the three dimensions, which penetrate each other in the living room. The penetration of the volumes creates a use of space in which the various spaces within the house have a visual relationship. This is also the most striking difference with the type of dwelling described above, where the emphasis was not so much on the visual relationships within the dwelling, but more on the strict separation of certain areas of use. A third and last frequently used concept to arrive at a convincing design is that of free form. The best example is the 1967 Van Bentum residence in Soest. The idea is that the program of requirements is converted into a house plan and around it a shell or skin is draped. In the house in Soest, this is best expressed in the shape of the roof, which follows the house plan in its very own way. The interior of this type of dwelling can be understood as a mixture of the two types mentioned above and therefore was not designed according to a strict, preconceived plan. Demeter Another project which will have a great influence on Berger's later work is the study farm, which he designed together with seven fellow architects from the academy (A.C. Alberts7; N.H. Andriessen; H.W.Brakel; W. Buma; G.B. de Jong; J. Lourijssen and A.L. Lourijssen). The architects formed a grouping, which bore the name Demeter. This grouping was led by H. van Leeuwen, at the time of the project a lecturer at the Department of Housing of the Agricultural College in Wageningen. Later, H. van Leeuwen would become a professor at this institution. This department aimed to research the housing needs of the housing consumer. The Demeter architects began their work in early 1956 and produced a report of findings and study results 5 years later, in May 1960.8 The objective of the grouping was to come up with a design for an agricultural farm building, based on the business and economic requirements, which were imposed by the agricultural developments of the time. These agricultural buildings were to be erected in the then 'barren' areas of the Netherlands, such as the IJsselmeer polders and the areas where land consolidation took place. In any case, places where there was not yet a certain harmonious composition of landscape and buildings; places where the farm buildings designed by Demeter could not be seen as dissonants.9 To achieve this objective, the Demeter group wanted to know as much as possible about the human being, in this case the farmer. The situation was viewed from the consumer's point of view and the following requirements for the farm building were arrived at: pleasant living, efficient operation, materials and forms that were current at the time, buildable as cheaply as possible (this could be achieved through complete standardization) and maximum flexibility. These requirements were translated into a proposal in the form of the aforementioned report. This report contains, in addition to the drawings for the different types of agricultural buildings, an explanation of the drawings and the conclusions of the five-year study. First, it was concluded, that the requirements can best be met, if work is done by standardizing the sizes. A ground size of 5.28 x 5.28 meters 10, at heights of 3, 4, 7 and 8 meters, is chosen as the standard unit, or module size. Second, it is concluded that merging standard units will result in differential farm sizes. Merging or, on the contrary, separating the units will create optimal flexibility. Third, it is concluded, that it is most economically advantageous, to work with prefabricated elements. For the substructure, prefabricated standard elements in concrete are chosen. For the superstructure, prefabricated standard elements in wood are chosen. The elements are assembled on site. Fourth, it is concluded, that working with these standard elements leads to an ideal alignment between company building and company plan. Therefore, if the business plan is modified, the business building can be easily modified. These conclusions do not differ much from the results of research published in Forum in 1957.11 This article makes it clear that initially a different module size was chosen than would later be applied. The article is also accompanied by a number of images. The industrial buildings with accompanying houses can best be understood as a stacking of boxes; up to two storeys high, with the lower storey having a cladding of concrete plates measuring 0.61 x 1.22 meters and the upper storey having a wooden cladding. The boxes could be linked and stacked independently of each other, giving each project its "own" form. Investigations into the possibilities of standardized construction like this took place frequently in the 1950s and 1960s. Ultimately, these investigations, and especially the results resulting from them, led to the a building method with which the post-war housing shortage could be addressed. In addition, studies such as these were the reason for the founding of the SAR. It may therefore be clarifying to give a brief historical overview below of what prompted these investigations and how the Demeter investigation fits within the time in which it was carried out. In the Netherlands, the building of standardized housing emerged during World War II. Under Dr. J.A. Ringers reconstruction policy, about 500,000 homes were to be built in 10 years starting in 1943. Reacting to the standardized housing construction, the Housing Architecture Core Group is established. This out of dissatisfaction with the architectural appearance of mass production housing. In 1944, they publish a report, in which they make known the basic principles for post-war housing: among other things, dimensions of use spaces in dwellings are mentioned and the use of mechanical systems (e.g., central heating) in dwellings is advocated. Regional characteristics remain a controversial issue. Some architects argue for a "couleur locale" in architectural appearance, other architects, such as Arthur Staal, assume, that regional differences will disappear with the blossoming of a European culture.12 In the 1950s and 1960s there is a blossoming of research into and building with standardized elements and building systems. Some of this research leads to a catalog of building components that can be assembled into a house. These catalog homes are free of regional characteristics and can be placed anywhere in the country. In the 1960s, the Minister of Housing, Minister Bogaers, promoted system construction. In 1961, Habraken published his book The Bearers and the People. The end of mass housing. The book revolves around the fact that postwar mass housing led to too much lack of flexibility. All housing looked alike. Residents might have found a shelter, but it would not be possible to make this shelter a "home. In the future, industrialized housing construction would have to focus on offering the user more variety.13 Habraken's main goal was to ensure, that the residents should again be seen as serious participants in the building process. As an alternative to the existing mass housing, Habraken offers the idea of the "carrier. This carrier can be seen as just the constructive elements of a house, which can be built, changed and demolished independently of another carrier. The interior of the carrier can be furnished by the residents, using prefabricated elements. In 1964, Habraken and a number of other architects founded the Architects Research Foundation. This SAR aimed to study the principle of the carrier and its interpretation. Beginning in 1965, the SAR became increasingly involved in research into modular construction with standardized building elements. The use of standard elements led to an architecture so typical of the housing construction of the 1970s and 1980s. A period par excellence of links, stairs, terraces, bulges and indentations.14 Libraries Although no work was done on the Demeter project after 1960, nor was a single farm building ever built, it can be said, that working on this project had a major influence on Berger's later work. In the library designs, eight of them from 1972 to 1982, as well as in a small number of houses, Berger uses the experience gained from working with modules and building elements. Each project tries to deal with the module in a different way. As a result, the module differs in size in many projects. The binding factor is, however, that the module is strictly handled in each project. The module is used to create a clear and well-organized floor plan in which all requested functions are included in a clear manner. In addition, the module is frequently used to create an architectural image, where a certain tranquility is found mainly in the facade through repetition of a building element. A good example of a library that was designed using a basic module and which is typical of the libraries designed by Berger is the 1972 library in IJsselstein. For this library, a module size of 5 x 10 meters was chosen, which matches the surrounding buildings. A total of six modules are connected next to each other, which bring a certain plasticity to the facade by shifting relative to each other. The roof construction of recessed sloping roof surfaces, which form a saw-tooth structure in the view, is image-defining, together with the 'heavy' wooden canopy that accentuates the entrance area. The two-story façade is made of clean masonry of handmade bricks. On the first floor level there are floor-to-ceiling window openings. These are recessed into the facade. The first floor has square window openings, which are situated in the facade plane. In the interior, as in almost all other libraries designed by Berger, use is made of a split-level structure. The interior is further characterized by the use of wide wooden parts: the stairs, banisters, fall-through protection and other eye-catching "details" are executed in dark wooden parts. In addition, the roof structure is also conceived in wood. The visible parts of the supporting structure are made of concrete. As in the facade, the interior walls are executed in clean masonry of hand-formed brick. Libraries of this "type" are generally well received by both clients, and users. For example, from an article in The Architect from 1980 15, the "homely" character of the library is praised. This homely character, according to the same article, is achieved by the small scale of the module size and is enhanced under the sloping roof planes. In keeping with the spirit of the times, Berger prefers to speak of roofed market squares, within which various activities can take place, in his explanatory notes to the various designs.16 Fellow architects and architectural critics also used to use this terminology. For example, architect Van Klingeren's De Meerpaal project is described as "a covered continuation of a market square. "17 Although Berger almost always uses rectangular modules, there are a small number of exceptions of other-shaped modules in the oeuvre. For example, an octagonal module is used in a 1975 library in Maarssen. The material use of this library corresponds, with the example described above. Large housing projects In addition to building mostly individual housing projects, the architectural firm P. Berger designed a number of projects of a larger scale. Often with the larger commissions, the firm was asked to create the urban design plan in addition to the designs for the houses. Often the assignments were given by Ontwikkelings- en Exploitatiemaatschappij Smulders B.V. In 1970 the firm was commissioned to develop eleven dwellings in Woerden. Besides developing the dwellings, the firm is also responsible for their urban siting. Berger chooses to connect the 11 houses in such a way that they face each other in a courtyard. This idea will be used more often in later housing projects. In the largest housing project assigned to the firm in its history, 106 dwellings in Maarssenbroek, this idea is further developed. The assignment to build 106 homes in the Fazantekamp neighborhood of Maarssenbroek is obtained in 1973. The site is put forward as a "white spot," on which the firm should develop its own urban design plan. The difficulty of the assignment lies in the national highway, which runs alongside the site. When the commission was granted, it was therefore demanded that the firm take into account the possible noise pollution that this national highway could cause for the houses adjacent to it. Initially, the client does not find it acceptable, if these houses are more than one floor high. Because this requirement is in line with Berger's idea of the assignment, the solution was proposed that the roof of the houses should face the national highway and start at ground level. From an urban planning perspective, a structure with courtyards was chosen. This is to create a sense of belonging among the residents. The houses are linked in such a way that the front of the houses faces an inner courtyard. These courtyards are decorated with trees and greenery. The paving of simple clinkers partially extends to the facades of the houses. Very small gardens and a parking strip for each house separately make the separation between house and street clear. The house facade is of hand-formed brick. The window openings are accentuated by robust concrete lintels, which articulate around the window openings. The window frames are of dark impregnated wood as are the balconies and the cladding of the third floor. The wide cornice is painted in a light tone. The roofing is simple dark tiles. Some houses have a triangular dormer on the front. Behind the houses is a garden, which connects to a public green strip. The firm has previously realized large-scale housing projects. Between 1972 and 1975, about eighty Berger-designed houses were built in Bilthoven. The houses were designed as double villas. The houses have a square first floor plan. A box-like volume was placed on the load-bearing walls, housing the bedrooms. Unlike a number of other houses Berger designed according to this concept, the box-shaped volume on the second floor is not accentuated in the cladding (hand-formed brick in a light color). The difference between the first floor and the first floor is made clear by the fact that the first floor protrudes about half a meter over the first floor. This accent is reinforced by a concrete beam, at the level of the first floor, which is left visible in the facade. In addition, a contrast is sought between the openness of the facade of the first floor versus the closedness of the facade of the first floor. The houses have flat roofs and the eaves have been kept as thin as possible. This has resulted in a narrow zinc strip. The firm has also dealt with housing construction in old city centers. Around 1980, the architectural firm N. Vroman B.V., based in Woerden, carried out a study assignment commissioned by the Woerden City Council to improve Woerden's city center. In cooperation with architectenbureau Berger B.V., a sketch plan for the improvement of the inner city is made in 1980. The sketch plan included housing, stores, restaurants and parking facilities in a partially covered shopping center. This plan was situated in the old city center of Woerden. From the few surviving drawings of this plan, it is clear that the architect tried to connect to the historic buildings of the city. This is not so much on an architectural level, as on an urban planning level: the plan fits smoothly into the kinked street plan of the inner city and the building height matches the surrounding buildings. Remarkably, the choice was made to use a lot of greenery in and around the shopping center. In 1981 the Woerden city council decided to hold a competition for the above-mentioned improvement of the city center. Three architectural firms participate in this competition: Treffers and Polgar B.V., Stuurman B.V. and the combination N. Vroman-Berger. Although the competition is won by the combination N. Vroman-Berger, the plan made by this combination is never executed. Shopping centers That the bureau P. Berger B.V. made the above-mentioned sketch plan to improve Woerden's city center is not surprising. In the years preceding the above plan, the firm had gained some experience in designing (multifunctional) shopping centers. The most striking example is the shopping center the firm designed in 1971 for the old city center of Utrecht. The shopping center was conceived as a connection between the current Vredenburg and the Oude Gracht. At the time, the connection consisted of no more than a narrow alley. Parallel to this alley, Berger designed a partially covered passageway, on which a number of stores were situated. Some of the stores were accessible from both the alley, and the passage. Housing was designed above the stores. The passage connected to a courtyard, on which a number of green spaces were located. The facades facing the alley were designed to match the existing facades. The facades adjacent to the passage and the courtyard have a very different appearance. These facades use materials and forms that were in vogue at the time. The seventies were "a decade of links, stairs, terraces, bulges and indentations par excellence. "18 The design can be understood as a linking of box-shaped volumes, on which protuberances at corners are situated according to a certain pattern. Plastic cladding material was used for the facades adjacent to the passageway, in which the vertical direction is accentuated. The bulges are mainly made of glass. The supporting structure consists of concrete columns and beams; the columns have been left visible as much as possible. The shopping center, which bore the name "Binnenhof," opened in 1976, but closed its doors in the mid-1980s and was subsequently demolished. Factory and industrial buildings When designing factory or commercial buildings, functional features were paramount in Berger's vision. A building of this type need not meet the same aesthetic requirements, as a building in the city. This is because most factory and industrial buildings designed by Berger are located on the monotonous industrial estates, which were constructed from the 1960s onward. Nevertheless, with many of the factory and industrial sites he designed, Berger tried to give the project a certain degree of representativeness within the set requirements. This was mainly achieved, by situating the office area, showroom, reception areas or canteen at the front of the project. Many of the factory buildings have a steel roof structure of three-dimensional trusses. The facades of many of these projects feature sheet metal. A good example of a Berger-designed factory building is the 1962 building for Demu metal industry in Utrecht. The 32.5 x 100 m hall has a steel structure with trailer beams 8.60 m apart and a center column row. On the street side of the hall, the offices, canteen and reception rooms are situated in a free-standing element. This element consists of three stepped box-shaped elements. This creates an expressive appearance of the facade. The element is elevated and placed on concrete columns, allowing the space under the element to be used as parking. The facade of the element is composed of three horizontal strips, the middle strip of which is glass. The upper and lower strips are of white sheet material. The expressiveness of the facade of the element is further emphasized by the large overhang of the entrance lounge and the coarse staircase which is included in the linking of the box-shaped elements. Where the space under the element is used as interior space, the facade is filled in with brick. The facade construction clearly reflects the chosen module size. In addition, through the sober choice of materials, the mass effect of the building volume is reinforced. In other industrial buildings designed by Berger, the mass effect of the building volume also plays a major role. Incidentally, this is entirely in keeping with the trend in vogue at the time to achieve harmonious proportions by choosing a size or module that is consistently applied to all parts of the building. It was also important in buildings with a clear conception of form to use as few types and contrasting materials as possible for the sake of a direct mass effect and building volume.19 1 A. Lüchinger, Structuralism and urban planning, Stuttgart, 1981, pp. 27 2 see note 1 3 Umberto Barbieri (ed), Architecture and Planning. The Netherlands 1940 - 1980. Rotterdam, 1983, pp. 147 4 H. Van Dijk, 20th Century architecture in the Netherlands, Rotterdam, 1994, pp. 124 5 W.J. van Heuvel, Structuralism in Dutch architecture, Rotterdam, 1992 6 I.L. Szénássy, Architecture in the Netherlands 1960/1967, Amsterdam, 1969, pp. 42 7 This is the previously mentioned Ton Alberts, who became known for realizing anthroposophical works such as the office for the ING in Amsterdam and the office for the Gasunie in Groningen. 8 Architectenwerkgroep Demeter, Bedrijfsgebouwen voor akkerbouw en weidebedrijven, Utrecht, 1960 9 The Provinciaalse Overijsselsche en Zwolsche courant of Saturday, March 29, 1958 (169th volume, no. 75, pp. 3), in a report on the Demeter project, hints that the ideas of Van Leeuwen et al. "sound like infernal gibberish to the ears of those who want to maintain the main forms of each region for the sake of the landscape, but above all because those old forms [the traditional farms] are still, in their opinion, the most useful and cheapest." 10 This size was chosen in reference to the requirements of a cattle barn at the time. 11 Forum no. 5, 12th volume, June 1957, pp. 148-156 12 K. Bosma et al, Housing for the Millions (John Habraken and the SAR), Rotterdam 2000, pp. 36 13 K. Bosma et al, Housing for the Millions (John Habraken and the SAR), Rotterdam 2000, pp. 91 14 H. Ibelings, Dutch architecture of the 20th century, Rotterdam 1995, pp. 126-129 15 De Architect no.1, January/February 1980, 99. 61-66; the article is about a competition won by Berger for a Library in Mijdrecht. 16 In the notes to, among others, the 1977 design for the library at Loosdrecht, the 1978 library at Zuilen and the 1979 library at Rhenen, Berger mentions that the whole is to be conceived as a roofed market, which is expressed by the roof shape. 17 I.L. Szénássy, Architecture in the Netherlands 1960/1967, Amsterdam, 1969, pp. 57 18 H. Ibelings, Dutch architecture of the 20th century, Rotterdam, 1995, pp. 127 19 I.L. Szénássy, Architecture in the Netherlands 1960/1967, Amsterdam, 1969, pp. 110 Education: Academy of Architecture Amsterdam HBO/1953-1956; Academy of Architecture VBO/1950-1952;HTS Heerlen/1946-1950 Additional positions: Welstand Committee Naarden//;Welstand Committee Blaricum//;Provincial Utrecht Welstand Committee//;Welstand Municipality Utrecht//.