J. London (1872-1953) Personal details and education Jacob (Jack) London was born in Haarlem in 1872. He was the son of the contractor H. London. He received his education in Vienna and Haarlem 1). Since no publications of his are known, we know little about the person London and his ideas regarding architecture. As far as is known, he worked mainly in Haarlem and its surroundings and in Hilversum and its environs. In 1953 London died at the age of 81 in Hilversum 2). Characterization of London's oeuvre London's earliest known works are residential and store houses in Haarlem, which he signed in the lower stone edge of the façade. Beginning in 1900, he signed 'J. London architect'; in an older house he is listed as 'builder'. Designed in a historicizing style, these buildings are reminiscent of late medieval town houses. Gothic and Renaissance style features can be found in them. The facade of the house at No. 25 Zijlstraat (before 1900), which he still signed as 'architectural', contains an iron beam with Art Nouveau ornaments. There are also "Gothic" stone moldings with pointed arches along the storefront. Post-1900 designs no longer show such 'stuck-on' ornamentation. In his younger years, London repeatedly competed successfully in the facade competition of the Haarlem and surrounding area division of the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Bouwkunst. He won first prize twice and second prize twice, in 1903 with a bakery store on Koningstraat, in 1904 with a villa on Van Heijthuizenweg (demolished), in 1906 with the Christelijk Tehuis voor Militairen and in 1907 with the building of the Christelijke Jongelingsvereeniging in Haarlem (demolished). These competitions were discussed in most architectural magazines and newspapers 3). Especially his 1900 bakery on Koningstraat received a lot of attention. London's father, the contractor H. London, received a silver medal for the careful execution. At the store, which is still almost in its original condition externally and internally, the idea of a medieval town house was carried through to the interior as well. Both the facade and the interior are predominantly made of wood. Especially from about 1905 London designed country houses and villas in the surroundings of Haarlem and Aerdenhout 4). In these buildings we find predominantly Renaissance and Baroque style features. Some villas near Aerdenhout show a castle-like appearance due to their simple, somewhat closed character and the round corner turrets. An example of this is the villa 'Sonnevanck'. More baroque features are found at the villa ''t Heem' between Bentveld and Zandvoort. In mansions in Amsterdam and Haarlem the baroque trend was continued. Especially the house in Haarlem is provided with very many ornaments. In these early years London also designed the town halls of Halfweg (1906) and Wijk aan Zee (1908). London probably settled in Hilversum around 1915. From that year he worked mainly in and around this place. In 1915 he participated unsuccessfully in a competition for a home for military personnel in Hilversum. A sketch of this design is preserved in the London archive at the NAi in bird's-eye perspective. He also designed his own house 'Middlesex' at 110 Soestdijkerstraatweg (1921-1928). It clearly differs from his early work by its simple angular building masses and flat roofs 5). Commissioned by the construction society 'Goed Wonen', London made a plan for 60 houses in the Hilvertsweg area in Hilversum in 1919, even putting it out to tender, but it was not executed 6). A very remarkable, but also never executed design by J. London is that for a 'City of Light' in oriental style from 1918 for Frederik van Eeden, with whom London was a friend. Van Eeden published a book about this plan in 1920, comparing it to related plans, for example by Berlage. However, the underlying socialist-utopian ideas are not found in London's other work, as far as is known. It is a grand, symmetrically laid out city with the "Middle Temple" at its center. The London archive at the NAI contains a number of drawings for this project. London's later work - he then settled in Hilversum - includes a residential house and a workshop in Soest and factory buildings. London's role in architectural discussion/development No publications or statements in the architectural field are known from J. London. Although some buildings designed by him are pictured and mentioned in the magazine Architectura, he is not included in the membership list of the Genootschap Architectura et Amicitia. So what can be said about his architecture must be inferred from the works themselves. His early works, the aforementioned residential and store houses in Haarlem, show neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance stylistic features. Around 1905 London began to deal mainly with villas and country houses. The "Gothic" has then completely disappeared from his work. Renaissance and especially baroque details characterize these works. London's work thus fits within the Central and Northern European country house architecture of the time, in which a great interest in the eighteenth century can be seen. Muthesius' book Landhaus und Garten, a well-known record work of the time, shows many examples of this influence in early-twentieth-century architecture. It also includes London's 'Sonnevanck' in Aerdenhout 7). The 'City of Light' with central 'Brotherly Temple,' which London designed for Frederik van Eeden, has its predecessors in Berlage's Pantheon of Menschheid (1915) and a world capital drawn by De Bazel (1905) 8). With its oriental formal language, however, London seems more in keeping with such designs by Berlage from the end of the last century, rather than the Pantheon of Menschheid (1915). In The House of God in the City of Light (1920), Van Eeden discusses these plans in comparison to London's. Whether London was interested in Van Eeden's socialist ideas we do not know, because no statements on the subject are known from London. That he built mainly for wealthy clients does not exclude such views, as one can see from the example of Berlage. The relationship to clients To what extent London shared the views of his patrons is not clear. It seems that London often took clients' wishes into account to a significant degree. In London's archive at the NAI are two design sketches for country houses, one in a kind of 'Arabic' design, the other in an English design. For the 'English' house, he made some notes, including the statement that the thatched roof would probably not be allowed. This gives the impression of extensive consultation between client and architect about important architectural elements and building materials. Whether the two sketches are two variants for the same client is not known. Van Eeden plays the biggest role as the client for the thoughts behind the "City of Light"; it is also he who has the plan published, while London does not comment on it 9). Notes 1) De Opmerker 1903, pp. 94-95; G. Fanelli, Modern Architecture in the Netherlands 1900-1940, The Hague 1978, 1981, p. 291. 2) 'Arch. Jack London,' Construction 8, I, 28-03 1953 no. 13, p. 239. 3) See bibliography. 4) Examples of these villas and mansions can be found in: J.H.W. Leliman, Het stadswoonhuis in Nederland gedurende de laatste 25 jaren, The Hague 1920, and in: J.H.W. Leliman and K. Sluyterman, The modern country house in the Netherlands, The Hague 1916. 5) J.G. Wattjes, Modern Dutch villas and country houses, Amsterdam 1931, p. 245-246. 6) 'Afloop van aanbestedingen', Vakblad voor de Bouwambachten, jg. 15, 17-11 1919, no. 46, p. 380; Streekarchief voor het Gooi en de Vechtstreek, files woningbouwvereniging 'Goed Wonen' no. 1.778.532.1. 7) H. Muthesius, Landhaus und Garten. Beispiele neuzeitlicher Landhäuser nebst Grundrissen, Innenräumen und Gärten, Munich 1910, p. 132. 8). N.H.M. Tummers, "Van Eeden and architecture," Wonen TA/BK 1973 no. 15 p. 29-30; F. van Eeden, Het Godshuis in de Lichtstad, Amsterdam 1921; Archives J. London, NAi, Rotterdam. 9) N.H.M. Tummers, 'Van Eeden and architecture', Wonen TA/BK 1973 no. 15 p. 29-30; F. van Eeden, Het Godshuis in de Lichtstad, Amsterdam 1921; Archives J. London, NAi, Rotterdam.