J.B. Ingwersen (1921-1996) Joh. Bernard Ingwersen (1921-1996) lived and worked his entire life in Amsterdam, where he also realized much of his oeuvre. At the Academy of Architecture, he came into contact with the ideas and works of Le Corbusier, which would be of great influence on his work. Thus Ingwersen used numerous Corbusian elements in his work and realized many monumental and modern buildings each with its own characteristic appearance. With Autopon, the Ambachtsschool and De Utrecht, Ingwersen made a striking contribution to the postwar city-building of Amsterdam. Moreover, by building dozens of schools, Ingwersen has influenced the formation of many residents of Amsterdam neighborhoods such as Osdorp, Slotervaart and Amsterdam-West and -North. Joh. Bernard Ingwersen was born in Amsterdam on April 12, 1921. After the MTS he trained as an architect at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. At the same time he was employed at an architectural firm in Velp and then he joined the architectural firm C. van der Bom in Amsterdam. From 1950 Ingwersen worked for the architect Commer de Geus (1989-1957). De Geus was known in part for his appointment, just after World War II, as chairman of the Kring Amsterdam. Around 1955, the two architects associated. They held offices at 132 Willemsparkweg under the name De Geus and Ingwersen. The firm existed for only a short time, as De Geus died in 1957. Incidentally, he had just been elected president of the BNA at the time. Ingwersen then ran his own firm until 1990. The architectural firm Giljam & Jacobs is the successor to the J.B. Ingwersen firm and located in the same building on Willemsparkweg. Education and Inspiration Ingwersen graduated from the Academy in 1951 with teacher Ir. W. van Tijen. His graduation work included the design of a residential center with facilities on the edge of the historic core of Amsterdam's downtown along the Amstel River. Here Ingwersen did not shy away from projecting a slender high residential building on legs in combination with an elongated gallery flat with maisonettes of different sizes. The free-standing buildings, the use of pilotis and the designed roof with roof terraces and various rooms are reminiscent of the work of Le Corbusier (1887-1965). After the war, the Amsterdam Academy, with teachers such as Rietveld, Mart Stam and Van Tijen, paid plenty of attention to the ideas and work of Le Corbusier. Ingwersen was captivated by the publications in the professional press and undoubtedly by the 1947 exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum on Le Corbusier. The French architect, as for many of Ingwersen's fellow architects, became his main source of inspiration. Later, Ingwersen saw an opportunity to view many works. Not only did he visit the Salvation Army's building (1929) in Paris in 1950 and l'Unité d'Habitation (1947-1952) in Marseilles shortly thereafter, he also went to Chandigarh with a Corbusier fellowship to admire Le Corbusier's government buildings. In the reconstruction years, Ingwersen, like many other Dutch architects did, incorporated many elements that can be traced directly back to Le Corbusier in concept or detailing. From l'Unité, one of Corbu's most famous residential buildings, the pilotis, the floor plan with central corridor and the use of the roof as an outdoor space became wildly popular. Corbusian elements such as undulating roofs, concrete-brut, ramps, the free floor plan, horizontal window strips, brises-soleils and glass-in-concrete windows were also used numerous times by Bijvoet & Holt, K.L. Sijmons and Van den Broek and Bakema, for example. Before the war, most Dutch designs with Corbusian features had remained unimplemented, but in the 1950s and 1960s architects were able to actually give shape to their admiration for Le Corbusier. The residential building l' Unité was clearly taken as an example by De Geus and Ingwersen in the design of the Christian LTS/Ambachtsschool on Wibautstraat (1952-1956). The architects also show that they had adopted the functionalist urban design ideas of Le Corbusier. For example, the Ambachtsschool does not stand along the wide Wibautstraat, but the building is oriented north-south so that the classrooms enjoy optimum light and air circulation. The transparent building layer on the first floor, with concrete pillars and glass, and the surrounding green lawn emphasize the detached position of the building, which was popularly called "the ship. The floor plan of the Crafts School with central corridor, the use of concrete-brut with the texture of wooden formwork, the open facades with concrete gratings that filter the light, the expressive canopy at the main entrance, the roof where the technical facilities, terrace and the sloping roof of the gymnasium form their own roof landscape, and the use of wall decorations in concrete reliefs are all inventions of Le Corbusier. School building Thanks to De Geus' contacts with a number of Christian school boards in Amsterdam, the firm received numerous commissions in the 1950s and 1960s to design primary, secondary, technical and industrial schools. The expansions of the Pascal comprehensive school on Cornelis Lelylaan (1959-1964) and the Christian LTS/MTS Patrimonium on Vlaardingenlaan in Amsterdam-West are well-known examples. In various ways, functionalist principles were elegantly applied in school construction. For example, the Christian Lyceum on Cornelis Lelylaan is housed in an elongated block of four floors, with all classrooms oriented to the sun. On the roof are bulges for a room for cosmography and a hall for the students' association. On the south side, an expressive building with an undulating roof was erected for special meetings. The Lower Philippus School on Louis Bouwmeesterstraat in Amsterdam-Slotervaart is also characterized by modernity. The low building has a precise north-south orientation, just like the surrounding residential buildings, so that the classrooms obtain optimum daylight. The seven classrooms are arranged in a square. The higher central hall can be used for a variety of purposes. Ingwersen designed more than 45 schools in his career. Most were realized in Amsterdam, but in the 1970s, for example, he also built a college in Terneuzen and, in the 1980s, one in Zielhorst, Amersfoort. The Zeldenrust College in Terneuzen (1974-1978) is based on a plan of three three-story lecture towers, connected on the ground and second floors. The dimensions in the building are based on a module and the facades are constructed in brick. As such, the building fits into the contemporary architectural style of structuralism, which is characterized by module-based building complexes that are easily expandable. The towers of Zeldenrust College consist of two carrés, which partially overlap. Traffic intersections and restrooms are located here. The division of the school into towers provided the opportunity to divide subject groups and age groups separately. A striking feature is the accompanying sports hall, which is covered with a wooden suspended roof. Expressive commercial building Besides building schools, Ingwersen also worked on various commercial buildings, such as the Autopon on Overtoom (1955-1961) and the office buildings Gebouw Wella on Keizersgracht and De Utrecht on Amstel (1960-1972). Also well known are the now demolished Villa Ponsen on Rivierenstraat (1955) and the Ginneken residence on Prinses Marijkestraat (1958) again in Amsterdam. The representative Autopon was commissioned by the Volkswagen importer and racing driver Ben Pon to be built at a strategic point on the Overtoom, near the western approaches to Amsterdam. In addition to a service company equipped with the most modern and devices and installations at the time, the building contains 56 spacious homes and a parking basement for 200 volkswagens. The Autopon also has Corbusian features, such as the curved concrete facade with grilles, robust pilotis over the first two floors and expressive bulges at the entrance (skybox with show model) and the overhanging boardroom on the roof. Housing is housed on the upper floors of the curved Autopon and in a separate apartment on Zocherstraat. The modern Building Wella (1957-1958) stands on historic Keizersgracht among 17th-century buildings. The open glass façade with concrete grilles, thanks to the expanded staircase and sidewalk and to the emphatic roof termination with terrace, is provided with a distinct pedestal and eaves, thus blending in with the historic surroundings. The open office floors are bathed in natural light. The first floor features additional ceiling height. Initially in 1960, Ingwersen sketched a slender office building of about 18 floors for the site on the Amstel on the corner with Sarphatistraat, commissioned by the Life Insurance Company De Utrecht. This building height was not accepted by the Urban Development Department because of the historical surroundings. After the adjacent land was purchased, a lower 7-story building was designed with a T-shaped floor plan. The desired connection to the historic environment resulted in a steel frame building with masonry walls. The hardwood window frames have double pivoted windows. Most notable is the glass roof structure and polygonal, expressive roof. Residence Ponsen was a bungalow on dynamically designed pillars, so that the first floor was open and housed only a garage. The open south facade had a large glass front with a spacious balcony off the living room. The front door was located on the closed north side. The facade of the garage had a colorful abstract sgrafitto combined with mosaic by visual artist H. op de Laak. The Ambachtsschool on Wibautstraat also features artworks by Op de Laak, such as the concrete reliefs in the corridors and stairwell. The combination of art and architecture had once again been promoted by Le Corbusier. Many of Ingwersen's projects at the time received reviews in magazines such as "Bouw," "Bouwwereld" and "Bouwkundig Weekblad," or were discussed in national newspapers such as "Trouw," "Parool" and the "NRC. Ingwersen himself published only rarely. Most famous is his 1965 article in 'Cement' about Le Corbusier. In contemporary historiography, the Ambachtsschool and Autopon by De Geus and Ingwersen are particularly discussed. Education: MTS Amsterdam/; Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam Secondary activities: Utility Building Guarantee Foundation/1970/member of Supervisory Board.