Biography Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet (1919-1975) Coralie (Cora) Chaillet was born in Borneo in 1919. In 1924 she moved to Venezuela where she stayed for two years, then lived in Romania for six years. In 1932, the Chaillet family settled in The Hague, where Cora attended grammar school. After passing her exams, she left for London and began studying interior design at the School of Interior Decoration. However, due to the threat of war, she returned to the Netherlands after only three months and settled in Amsterdam. Here she studied interior design at the Institute for Arts and Crafts Education (IvKNO). Well-known teachers during this period included Mart Stam and Johan Niegeman. Cora Chaillet was very attracted to the style of the Nieuwe Bouwen and the Bauhaus during this period. In 1941, she graduated and took additional architecture classes. In 1942, she was admitted to the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, where she took the Voortgezet Bouw Onderricht and graduated in 1947. In 1946, she married architect Arno Nicolaï. From 1952, the Housing Foundation played an important role in her professional life. The purpose of this foundation was primarily educational: How could a home be furnished responsibly? The advice given was along the lines of the Nieuwe Bouwen and De 8 and Opbouw; it was businesslike and functional. Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet furnished many model homes to stimulate discussion about home design. In the late 1960s, Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet joined the board of the Goed Wonen Foundation. She regularly wrote articles for the magazine Goed Wonen. Some well-known projects from this time are the recreation building of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM; in collaboration with her husband Arno Nicolaï), a model home on Kanaaleiland in Utrecht and the home of the K. family in Hoogeveen. In addition to her work for the Goed Wonen Foundation, Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet had many other pursuits. She had her own agency and gave advice to individuals and companies. Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet also taught at a number of educational institutions in the field of interior design and design (including the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam and the Academy of Architecture in Groningen). She was also in contact with several municipal Women's Advisory Committees (VACs). These VACs were established to better integrate the wishes of women into housing development. Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet wrote many articles on the subject of housing. One of her most important publications is the book 'Woon practisch en prettig' (1955). In 1968 she received the Cultural Prize of Drenthe. She received this award for her work as an interior designer and for her many social and cultural activities. She also received membership of merit in the Professional Association of Dutch Interior Architects (B.N.I.). The B.N.I. awarded her this membership because of her merit in teaching others to see and think about their living environment and because of her work as a board member. Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet made two trips through the desert in the late 1940s. She used her travel experiences to develop her ideas about space. On December 31, 1975, she died at the age of 56.