A.A. Oosterman (1915-1969) Architectengroep Emmerhout, consisting of Adrianus Carolus Nicolaï, Albert Anton Oosterman and Jan Johannes Sterenberg, was intensively involved in the planning phase of the Emmerhout neighborhood, the third in a series of postwar expansion districts in Emmen. The city struggled with a significant increase in population shortly after World War II and, moreover, managed to convince fifteen companies to settle in Emmen with government support and Marshall Aid funds. This not only provided jobs, but also increased the housing shortage, which was already estimated at 2,600 homes in 1947. On the initiative of the municipality, the districts Emmermeer, Angelslo and Emmerhout are realized one after the other. In these new residential districts urbanity is combined with the existing landscape.Emmermeer, the first expansion district (19471960), is still largely based on a traditional street pattern, but is characterized by modern architecture. Angelslo (19561969) is designed according to rationalism and neighborhood thinking with lots of public greenery and houses with flat roofs. During the completion of Angelslo, the realization of Emmerhout is already underway. The planning phase of this district to the design of urban planner Niek de Boer runs from 19611966, the implementation takes place from 1964 to 1974. In the planning of the district there was intensive cooperation between the municipality, the architects A. C. Nicolaï (19142001), A.A. Oosterman (19151969) and J.J. Sterenberg (19232000) and the contractors Brands and Van Os.Emmerhout was spaciously laid out with lots of greenery and consisted of three zones, in which the central zone housed the facilities for the district and had residential buildings in the form of multi-storey houses and one tower block. In the other two zones of the district, traffic is separated from the residential and reading function. Here Niek de Boer introduces the new phenomenon of "woonerf," which allows the residential street to retain its function as a meeting place for people and children playing. To clearly mark the separation of traffic and living, the garages are situated at the beginning of the woonerf. Emmerhout has many houses with flat roofs at De Boer's intercession, but after his departure in 1966, houses with sloping roofs still arise. The newly appointed urban planner André de Jong could no longer ignore the calls for this type of housing from residents, building corporations, investors and the municipality alike.In 1969, Oosterman died. Nicolaï and Sterenberg continued the firm until the 1980s. After Emmerhout is designed for the most part, the firm also engages in projects outside the city limits. Sterenberg takes on most of the designs. Nicolaï was less involved with the firm for a time in the 1970s due to illness of his wife, Cora Nicolaï-Chaillet (19191975). Sterenberg died in 2000, Nicolaï a year later. Note: A.A. Oosterman's oeuvre has not been (completely) inventoried.