Biographical sketch Leo de Jonge Leo de Jonge was born in Rotterdam in 1919, the son of Rotterdam architect Jos de Jonge. Leo felt attracted to his father's profession. He attends the MTS-Bouwkunde in the years 1939 - 1941 and then works with M. Duintjer and A. Komter on their competition design for the Amsterdam Town Hall. In 1942 Leo de Jonge begins the Higher Architecture Education in Amsterdam, where he is taught by F.A. Eschauzier, J. van den Broek and M. Duintjer, among others. During this period, Scandinavian architects such as Gunnar Apslund and Arne Jacobsen are great examples. In 1948, he graduated. Meanwhile, Leo de Jonge had become cooperating architect of "Architectenbureau Jos en Leo de Jonge. In the 1940s and 1950s, the period of reconstruction, Leo de Jonge designed many social housing projects and a number of schools in Rotterdam, The Hague and Puttershoek. From this period, the Town Hall in Heerjansdam (1954) and the teacher training college St. Lucia in Rotterdam (1955) are particularly well known, both in business-like architecture. A first home for the elderly follows in 1957 and a first home for retarded children in 1959. For the Free University of Amsterdam, he builds a center, housing and a sports hall for students (project Uilenstede, Amstelveen, 1959). The firm thus grows into a nationally operating agency in the field of public housing, housing for the elderly, care for the mentally ill, nursing homes and flexible school buildings. Starting in the 1950s, De Jonge's work is influenced by the ideas of the Nieuwe Bouwen movement, but he denounces the uniformity that often seems associated with it. At the beginning of the 1960s, he is one of the initiators of the Stichting Architecten Research, the SAR. This foundation wants to develop a universal system of interchangeable elements, in order to meet the need for variation with limited financial resources. The Centraal Wonen complex De Meent (1974 - 1977) in Hilversum, in which he applied the SAR principles together with Pieter Weeda, made a great impression. After a number of employees joined the firm in 1968, it was renamed De Jonge, Dorst, Lubeek, De Bruijn, De Groot and Partners. This nationwide firm was particularly active in urban renewal in the 1970s and 1980s. From this period dates the much-praised housing developments along Goudse Rijweg and Vondelweg in Rotterdam (1975 - 1978). The firm is characterized by its extensive research and innovative character. Leo de Jonge was also involved in a number of urban planning projects. He developed the 'little squares plan' for the Meerzicht neighborhood in Zoetermeer and was involved in the development of the urban plan for the Merenwijk in Leiden, for the Vredenburg building plan, Malburgen, Arnhem, and for a number of neighborhoods and districts where Leo de Jonge realized housing. In 1983, De Jonge retired from the firm, which for some time was called Leo de Jonge Architects BV. During his working life, De Jonge also held a number of ancillary positions , including teaching architectural design at the Academies of Architecture in Amsterdam and Rotterdam (1950-1953), as a jury member of various competitions and as an editorial board member of Bouw. He was also a member of the Welstandscommissie Zuid-Holland from 1953 to 1967. Commissioned by the Ministries of Housing and Economic Affairs, made trips to the USA and Japan. Leo de Jonge was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1968.