Lourens Krook (1865-1944) Lourens Krook was born in Zwolle on October 13, 1865, the son of the well-known Zwolle contractor R. Krook. Krook jr. was educated at the Rijksnormaalschool voor Tekenonderwijs in Amsterdam and at the Technische Hochschule in Aachen. (1) It seems likely that Krook had training in civil engineering. After this training, Krook received an appointment in Halle/Saale. In 1896 Krook arrived in Lübeck where he went to work for the government, the so-called "Baudeputation," which requested "einen erfahrenen Techniker" for "Entwurfbearbeitung und (...) Baufürung grösserer Hochbauten."(2) The data from Lübeck are sketchy because the personnel register from Krook's time there was destroyed in 1959. In December 1896 Krook was employed in the construction of the Elbe-Trabe Canal. This canal runs from the Elbe near Lauenburg to Lübeck, connecting the Lübecker Bight in the Baltic Sea and the Elbe. Travemünde was an important port for the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. The canal was completed on Jan. 16, 1900, and after that Krook remained an employee of public works. No works by Krook are known in the Lübeck archives. According to historian Th.J. de Vries, Krook designed several more buildings in Lübeck, such as the Lorenzkirche, a prison, a school, a police station and an indoor swimming pool. (3) Krook remained in Lübeck for four years. At his request, Krook was resigned on October 19, 1902, effective December 1, 1902. On November 29, 1902 Krook left for Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, Krook became chef de bureau of the well-known architect Eduard Cuypers. Krook worked in Amsterdam until June 1904; he lived in Naarden. At that time, Eduard Cuypers had his own office in Jan Luykenstraat, near the Rijksmuseum. Nothing is known from his period with Cuypers. (4) Krook came to Zwolle in May 1904, where he worked as director of the Bureau Gemeentewerken until 1930. (5) He designed for himself a villa at Veerallee 31 (1904-1905). Krook's work in Zwolle included designs for a number of buildings for the municipality, including a new city hall, several schools and the municipality's expansion plans outside the actual city center. Striking Personality From De Vries' description, it can be seen that Krook was a striking personality. He had strict discipline in his office, possessed a great sense of duty and enormous working power. He was, according to de Vries "handicapped" by the incompetence of aldermen whom he characterized as "cowards. To prevent aldermen from taking drawings, Krook is said to have pasted them on the thickest cardboard. Indeed, the archive in Zwolle has a number of Krook's drawings on thick paper, beautifully worked out in pen and East Indian ink, sometimes colored in and lettered in Gothic style. Krook designed a large number of buildings for the municipal works department, which unfortunately were demolished during the last city expansion. These buildings were located on Dijkstraat, Friesewal and Rembrandtstraat. (6) The function of these buildings reflects something of the way the municipal works department functioned at the beginning of this century: for example, there was a passerby's house and in 1906 a service house for the municipal works office was built. In 1912 a service dwelling was combined with a horse stable for the municipal cleaning department, to which a hayloft was added in 1931. (7) Krook became nationally known for his design for the new city hall. Town hall in Zwolle With his design for a new town hall, Lourens Krook put an end to years of discussion about a new town hall for Zwolle or the rebuilding of the existing town hall. Zwolle's town hall stood and stands on the corner of Sassenstraat-Grote Kerkplein. Because of the buildings there, there was no room for expansion. Initially, the decision was made to rebuild the existing town hall. An important aspect was the preservation of the Schepenzaal, at that time used as a wedding hall. This Hall of Aldermen dates back to 1448. Its numerous discussions are recorded in the books of council meeting agendas the Acts of Council. (8) Presented in chronological order, it appears that this town hall was negotiated for many years, from 1882 to 1915, before World War I put an end to all plans forever. What remains is a maquette, present at the Office of Historic Preservation. Before Krook's arrival, there were plans such as a 1902 design to rebuild the town hall. The plans kept expanding, with a contentious issue being the use of the century-old wedding hall, the former alderman's room dating from 1448. The matter was at an impasse when Krook was appointed to Zwolle in 1904. Five years later, on April 15, 1907, there was talk of expanding the existing city hall. This was to be done on the Sassenstraat- Lombardstraat site, with a school to be moved because otherwise the extension would have insufficient light. (9) On September 1, 1908, Krook presented two sketch plans. Either the wedding hall with the archives would remain intact or the wedding hall and archives would be relocated. According to a report dated July 4, 1908, the latter plan was preferred by the council committee and Krook was asked to elaborate the plan further. (10) That plan had the approval of Mayor and aldermen. The archive played an important role in the division of space in the existing town hall. Zwolle had an expensive archive. The municipality had no money to maintain the archive and had entered into a contract with the State, which meant that the archive was housed in the Sassenpoort. This happened on the initiative of the state archivist who had the Sassenpoort restored, a restoration that was planned at 22 thousand guilders, but ended up costing 140 thousand. The fire hazard proved too great and the archives returned to the existing town hall in 1912, causing officials to complain of lack of space. (11) Krook enlisted the help of a committee of prominent architects. This advisory committee consisted of P.J.H. Cuypers(12), K.P.C. de Bazel, Salm(13), W. Kromhout and L. Krook. The council was advised that moving this wedding hall and the original alderman's hall would be "a violation of the architectural monument. The aforementioned committee had prepared a floor plan that met all the service requirements while retaining the wedding or alderman's hall. In this plan, the main entrance on the church square was located in the axis of an inner courtyard, from which the wedding hall received its light. The courtyard then immediately served as the main vestibule. The main staircase came in the axis of that courtyard, with a connection via a small vestibule to the B and W room, which thus again had a good relationship with the wedding hall. This could therefore immediately serve as a reception room and was also accessible from Sassenstraat. Krook designed the facade for this plan, a stately front with a tower. The building stood on a pedestal and the entrance was accessible via a borde staircase. This plan was adopted, by 12 to 6 votes, although the council was initially in favor of moving the wedding hall. (14) However, the plan was not implemented. Krook's design for a new Zwolle town hall. Finally Krook cut the knot and produced a new design for a town hall on the Eekhout site. This plan was a variant of the earlier design. The plan had a U-shaped floor plan with a courtyard garden. The front facade had a tower that also contained the entrance. The gable next to the tower had a window division that can also be found in the design for the gymnasium Celeanum. The entrance to this town hall was situated just opposite the then still narrow New Harbour Bridge. The tower stood in the line of sight of the bridge, an important entrance to the city. (15) On January 27, 1912, the proposal for this new city hall was adopted by 16 to 5 votes. A month later, the plan was submitted and, despite some objections, approved on March 9, 1913, by 16 to 3 votes. However, the council decision was disapproved by Provincial Council, which the municipality then appealed on October 20, 1913. By November 1915 the plan had been worked out with plans and elevations and land purchases were negotiated. The First World War put an end to this plan as the municipality wanted to wait for the end of the war. Of Krook's city hall design, the model and a drawing remain. In 1963, the Dutch architect J. Konijnenburg, who lived in Paris, was commissioned to rebuild the town hall on Sassenstraat. Restoration architect Krook always showed a great interest in the preservation and restoration of historical monuments. In 1902 Krook was already a corresponding member of the Nederlandsche Oudheidkundige Bond. During the construction of the Town Hall, Krook had already shown his support for preserving the old alderman's hall. On September 7, 1915, the Zwolle city council passed a resolution to convert the Reventer into a trade school. This renovation demonstrated Krook's skill as a restoration architect. This reventer is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Zwolle. (16) Krook's commission, to restore the building and convert it into a trade school, must be seen against this historical background. During this restoration, the plaster was chipped off the walls, which were provided with a new outer skin of stones to the old shape and color. Oak window frames with inward-turning windows and shutters were added. On Sassen Street, an addition came in place of the garden wall. The facades on Kerkplein, Sassenstraat and Nieuwe Markt became flat. (17) On the former garden side there is a section with a lower capped section and a stair turret. Although not the main facade, this facade has the richest processing in the form of arched windows, a pinnacle and shutters with wrought iron fittings. During restoration, the existing roofs were fitted with gabled roof windows. The windows were also closed with shutters. The restoration and remodeling was done in a historicizing style, as was common for restorations at that time. Schools In Zwolle in the 1930s there was a pillarization in school designs: L. Krook designed public schools, M. Meijerink (1873-1943) Christian schools and architect Voogd the Catholic schools. In 1928 Krook designed the building for the Rijks-HBS at Bagijnensingel 2, today's IJsselcollege. The design has references to the "round arch style" and neoclassicism. The facade features a center bay and symmetrical round-arched windows on both sides. The Gymnasium Celeanum (18) from 1930 at Veerallee 30 is built in a style related to the architecture of Berlage. The building has an L-shaped floor plan. The main building has a transverse gable roof interrupted in the middle by a gable with the entrance. The tender took place on May 9, 1929 at 2 p.m. The highest tender was from the Gebr. H. and H. Schenkel from Veendam with an amount of 188,900 guilders and the lowest tender from the firm A.Kingsma en zn from Leeuwarden with an amount of 174,920 guilders. A carpenter or bricklayer earned 78 cents per hour and a carpenter 65 cents. On the site of the school stood a house which was demolished and the bricks were reused. (19) In 1933-1934 Krook designed a vocational school on Mimosastraat, which is now a municipal monument as an example of New Building. The design was made by Krook in collaboration with architect A.Baart from Leeuwarden. The building was constructed from an L-shaped floor plan in brick and concrete. The facades feature horizontal strips of brick, red on the first floor and yellow on the upper floors. The building has wide rectangular windows with a steel pane division, encased in concrete lintels, separated by narrow brick wall dams. The façade on Mimosa Street has black glazed brick on the first floor and to the left a number of narrow windows with continuous concrete intermediate sills. The façade on Hortensiastraat has blue tile cladding at the far end above a continuous glass front. The end façade has a symmetrical layout. Where the two wings meet is a stairwell that is slightly higher with narrow, tall windows and an entrance under a concrete awning on both sides. Furthermore, the building features asymmetrical corner solutions with multi-faceted bay windows, extensions and half-brick chimneys. The schoolyard lies within two low wings and an iron fence between pillars. The wing on Hortensiastraat received the additional floor still during construction, modifying the 1932 design. Three schools, three different styles. It is difficult to determine in which style Krook designed. Krook designed on Lijnbaan in the then new city extension outside Kamperpoort, the Elbert School, a building in the style of the Amsterdam School. In 1933-1934 Krook, together with the Leeuwarden architect A.Baart, designed the vocational school in the Mimosastraat, a textbook example of the style of the Nieuwe Bouwen. This school is a municipal monument. Water tower Zwolle often suffered from high water before the Afsluitdijk came. Thus, residents of the Pannekoekendijk had special bulkheads in front of their doors that they could fill with sand. Krook designed a quay wall near this dike. The immediate cause was the storm of January 13, 1916, which caused great flooding. Krook proved to have extensive civil engineering knowledge to solve the recurring flooding for good. (20) Fire suppression was another problem Krook faced. Ir. Schotel's water tower was not high enough to provide sufficient water pressure. It was therefore decided to place a large reservoir in the Peperbus for the purpose of water supply. Krook contacted the company Numann from Eschweiler in Germany, which assembled the parts transported to Zwolle in the tower itself. Expansion plans During Krook's time working in Zwolle, many expansion plans were realized. Drawings of these can still be found in the Zwolle municipal archives. The oeuvre list of the Bureau Gemeentelijke Monumenten lists several models Krook made of extensions outside the city. In 1911 he worked on three maquettes and again in 1913. In 1911 there was the Assendorp expansion plan, a city extension outside the Sassenpoort, which came about after the Company for the Exploitation of State Railways established a workshop in Zwolle and needed housing for its employees. Small single-family houses arose in a narrow street plan around the Assiesplein.A beautiful drawing of a playing field in that district is still preserved in the Zwolle municipal archives. The most significant expansions came when various housing associations became involved in the expansion plans and housing. In 1922 the St. Joseph foundation built houses on what later became the Rembrandtlaan and Frans Halsstraat, association 'Het Noorden' supplemented the plan with middle-class houses on the Rembrandtlaan and Schuttevaerkade. An example that was followed by the AZCW (Alg. Zwolse Coop. Woningst.) and 'Samenwerking' in the Bollebieste, where in 1927 was built by contractor Witzand from Zeist. In 1928 the association Volkshuivesting was founded and built 101 houses outside the Kamperpoort. An important expansion, led by Krook, was the neighborhood on the Veerallee. A canal was planned there that ran perpendicular to the Willemsvaart to Black Water, about where the highway is now. The canal never came. In the 1920s, Veerallee was a stately avenue with trees. The neighborhood planned behind the Veerallee was therefore given the status of a residential area for wealthy people in Zwolle. (21) In 1923 architect M. Meijerink designed a Christian Lyceum there and in 1929 Krook designed the gymnasium. In the meantime, W.B.M. Beumer had been appointed as a structural engineer at Public Works. Like Krook, Beumer came from the office of Eduard Cuypers in Amsterdam. The Oversticht In 1926, at the urging of a number of architects from Overijssel and the 'Vereniging tot beoefening van Overijssels recht en geschiedenis', the society 'Het Oversticht' was founded, which included the Provincial Beauty Commission. The goal of this society was and still is 'promotion and preservation of the rural and urban beauty in the province of Overijssel'. The then mayor of Zwolle, Dr. I.A. van Royen, became chairman of Het Oversticht and Krook became chairman of the beauty commission. (22) The committee included delegates from various interest groups, such as the BNA, the Maatschappij tot bevordering van Bouwkunst, the Provincial Executive, a delegate from the Overijssel branch of the Association of Dutch Municipalities and the heads of the municipal works departments working in Overijssel, as well as a representative from the Association of Dutch Garden Architects. This beauty commission was given the task of assessing building and expansion plans in the various Overijssel municipalities. Moreover, the committee tried to stimulate that designs were made by competent architects and no longer by all kinds of local builders. It became a form of quality control, and it was Krook's task to use his committee to gain recognition and, above all, trust among various municipalities and clients. In this he worked together with the landscape committee of Het Oversticht under the chairmanship of W.P.C. Knuttel of Deventer and R. le Poole of the State Supervision of Public Health, Overijssel jurisdiction, public housing department, in Amersfoort. Le Poole was also a board member of Het Oversticht for a time. (23) An important example of this cooperation was the preservation of Holterberg as a nature reserve. In the late 1920s there was a great urge to build villas in the area; the area was managed by numerous large landowners who were out for land speculation, taking advantage of the trend of outdoor living. Architect T.J. Loggers from Holten made an expansion plan in which the Holterberg was spared and maintained as a nature reserve. (24) Loggers found a lot of resistance to this. Thanks to the support of Krook, Le Poole and the Bond Heemschut, the municipality of Holten was compelled by the Provincial States to impose this zoning plan. (25) Krook expressed his opinion as follows: Although a single expression of abnormal design may be tolerated, if it is controlled by a sensitive mind, soon those who wish to build on or near your mountain will feel compelled to imitate bizarre expressions of architecture. (26) A 1931 annual report of the beauty commission mentions rejections of 'broken hoods' and the rejection of the design for an extension to the Sophia Hospital by architect Wiebenga in concrete with steel windows. (27) In April 1940 Krook resigned as chairman and was succeeded by ir. W.P.C. Knuttel. Styles The oeuvre of architect Krook cannot be captured or described in a particular style. Krook used different styles for his designs. Krook used the style of the Amsterdam School for the Elbert School and the Sassenpoortenbrug from 1908. According to Robbert van Venetië, this bridge is Krook's most successful work. The Chamber of Commerce opposed this bridge because it attached great importance to an unobstructed shipping route round the city (The city canal connects to the Black Water). The bridge is an example of technical ingenuity with its width of 12 meters and turning construction of concrete. This concrete was lined with brick and gray granite the design is related to Jugendstil (28) according to Van Venetië, but writer this week clearly sees characteristics of the Amsterdam School style in it. The Rijks-HBS and the renovation on Stationslaan were done in a neoclassical style. The gymnasium, on the other hand, like the Park School, shows an affinity with the style of Berlage. Krook's own house, Veerallee 31 seems influenced by villas by Kromhout in the Gooi region. Conclusion Architect Lourens Krook was of far greater significance to the urban development of Zwolle than the modest share that has been reflected about him in various Zwolle histories. (29) When Krook came to Zwolle there were no extensions outside the city walls, when he stopped working there were extensions outside the walls in all directions. Thus he made a substantial contribution to city development. In developing the town hall plan, Krook managed to involve nationally known architects in his plans. Because so little is known about Krook's contacts in the architectural world, it has not been possible to further investigate his nationally known relationships. Architect Krook left a clear mark on the development of Zwolle and, as chairman of Het Oversticht, initiated a form of monument protection. He died on May 16, 1944. Tineke Loggers For the realization of this text thanks are due to Mr. J. Teunis, section Monumentenzorg of the municipality of Zwolle and to the leadership of the Gymnasium Celeanum. Literature Architectura, 11-09-1909, jg. 17, no. 37. Bouwkundig Weekblad, 02-10-1915, jg. 36, no. 23. Building World, 21-06-1911, jg. 10, no. 25. Like the day of yesterday. Zwolle and the people of Zwolle, Zwolle 1991-1993. R. van Venetie, "City in scaffolding," Zwolse Courant, 31-05-1985. Th.J. de Vries, Geschiedenis van Zwolle, Zwolle 1961, dl. 2. Notes 1. De Vries, p. 304. 2. Letter dated May 28, 1994 from Mr. Wiehmann, Archives of the City of Lübeck ( present in the archives architect T.J.Loggers). 3. Letter dated May 28, 1994 from Mr. Wiehmann, Archives of the City of Lübeck ( present in the archives architect T.J.Loggers). 4. De Vries writes about "the famous architect E.S.Aug. Cuypers" and probably means Eduard Cuypers. The register of persons of the city of Lübeck and Zwolle indicate that Krook worked in Amsterdam and lived in Naarden. 5. Krook was the successor to J.L. van Essen who was director of municipal works from 1897 to April 1, 1902. 6. The address of the offices of Public Works. 7.The address of the offices of Public Works. 8. Acts of the council, present in the geneent archive of Zwolle, 1902. 9. Acts of the council, present in the geneent archive of Zwolle, 1907. 10. Acts of the council, present in the geneent archives of Zwolle, 1908, report number 431. 11. De Vries, p. 318-319. 12. Which Cuypers is meant here is not clear. 13. Whether this is G.B. Salm or A. Salm is not known. 14. Architectura, February 11, 1902, p. 322. 15. De Bouwwereld, June 21, 1911, p. 197. 16. In 1308 it was given by the court of Vullenlo to the monastery of Bethlehem or Bellem. In 1230 it was apparently owned by the Bishop of Utrecht because city rights were given to him for the middle district and the marke Assendorp the later Zwolle. In 1324 the reventer burned down and was rebuilt and enlarged in 1350 as a reventer (refectory, reflector room or dining hall) of the monastery. After the Reformation, the city of Zwolle became the owner, making the reventer a fencing and dancing house in 1677 and 1689, respectively. In 1801 it was used for performances, after in 1795 the French refrained from using it as a barracks. It did not become that until 1812. In 1846, the Overijsselsch Vereeniging tot Ontwikkeling van Provinciale Welvaart opened the building as a museum, in 1875 it was expanded, followed in 1876 by a renovation that mutilated the building beyond recognition, despite the fact that state advisors for monuments of history and art insisted on a judicious restoration, drew up a plan and promised state funding. This restoration did not take place and the museum remained there until 1905 when the Society for the Study of Overijssel's Regt and History transferred the collection to the Melkmarkt, today's Prov.Overijssel Museum. In his book, De Vries presents a very negative view of Krook on restorations. This vision does injustice to Krook, who was indeed involved in the careful treatment of monumental buildings. 17. Architectural Weekly, October 2, 1915, p. 173-175. 18. The school owes its name to Joan Cele, who was rector of the Latin school in the 14th century. 19. Building data present in the archives of the gymnasium and in the municipal archives of Zwolle. 20. De Vries, p. 329. 21. As the day of yesterday, p. 203. 22. Minutes of the meeting of the Beauty Committee of Het Oversticht of July 27, 1940. Present in the Zwolle State Archives. 23. Minutes of the meeting of the Beauty Commission of Het Oversticht of July 27, 1940. Present in the Zwolle State Archives. 24. Memorie van Toelichting August 1937 by architect T.J. Loggers from Holten on his zoning plan for the Holterberg. Present in the archives of Loggers. 25. Reply of the Council of State to objections against the Holten zoning plan. 26. Council report of the municipality of Holten of a meeting of council members, delegates of the Beauty Commission and architect T.J. Loggers October 18, 1937. Present in the Holten municipal archives. 27. Jaarverslag van de Schoonheidscommissie van Het Oversticht van 1931, Present in the Rijksarchief in Zwolle. 28. Venice, May 31, 1985. 29. De Vries is the only one, who in his history of Zwolle, has written about Krook. Where this author got his information is not known, but it is very unfortunate that it contains inaccuracies. Indeed, De Vries does Krook an injustice when he characterizes him as someone who was averse to restoration work. The first name of Lourens Krook was always spelled "Laurens" by De Vries.