The Amsterdam School: A Decorative Architectural Movement

The Amsterdam School, an influential architectural movement, emerged in the Netherlands between 1915 and 1930. Known for its expressive and ornate style, the movement left a significant mark on social housing and public buildings. Its impact extended beyond the Netherlands, influencing architectural styles in its colonies and globally.

Expressive and Multimodal Argumentation

The Amsterdam School’s architecture is a form of embodied visual and multimodal argumentation. This means that the architectural forms used in buildings like Het Schip and De Dageraad express complex ideas and emotions. These social housing projects exemplify how architecture can serve as a medium for conveying deeper societal values and artistic expressions.

Influence of H. P. Berlage

H. P. Berlage, a prominent Dutch architect, significantly influenced the Amsterdam School. Berlage’s work inspired the movement’s formal concerns. The younger Amsterdam School architects expanded Berlage’s metaphysical scope. This symbiotic relationship helped shape the movement’s distinct aesthetic.

Global Influence

The Amsterdam School’s architectural style had a wide-reaching impact, influencing architecture in Europe and the United States, as well as colonial architecture in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The movement’s design approach and ornamental aesthetics resonated with architects worldwide, contributing to a global architectural dialogue.

Use of Colour and Ornamentation

The movement is noted for its whimsical forms and bright colours, influenced by colour theories and the psychological linking of line, form, and colour. This approach was part of a broader development in applied art, painting, and architecture that began in the nineteenth century. The vivid colour schemes and ornate details distinguish the Amsterdam School from its contemporaries.

Integration of Architecture and Decorative Arts

Very different in spirit from the rational aesthetic of its Modernist counterpart in Holland, De Stijl, the decorative work of the Amsterdam School was characterised by a more individualist style. The origins lay in Expressionism, the painter Jan Toorop’s flowing lines and decorative tendencies, and in aspects of the architectural designs of Hendrikus Berlage and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The major designer-architects of the group were Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer. Like many other designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they believed in integrating architecture, interiors, furnishings, and fitments. These ideas were first implemented in Amsterdam’s Scheepvaarthuis (Shipping House, 1912–16), where they assisted architect Johan van der Mey. This building was rich in detail, with intricate wrought iron detailing on the exterior and highly decorative interior metal fittings, stained glass, and textiles.

Architectural Innovations and Key Projects

The sculptural and decorative use of brickwork characterised the architectural designs of Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer. This was evident in De Klerk’s Eigen Haard (Own Hearth) housing development of 1914–16, in which the decorative style permeated the buildings. The individualistic design of door and window frames, door furniture, house numerals, and other details, including expanses of hung tiling, showcased the movement’s unique aesthetic.

Further opportunities for the Amsterdam School arose through the Amsterdam Municipal Council’s acceptance in 1917 of Berlage’s plans for developing Amsterdam-South. This included Kramer and De Klerk’s celebrated housing development for the De Dageraad (The Dawn) housing association between 1919 and 1921. De Klerk’s furniture often showed Asian influences in its form and details and catered to a wealthy clientele, whereas Kramer was more attuned to the requirements of a wider audience. Nonetheless, the underlying spirit of the Amsterdam School was essentially anti-industrial and veering towards a craft aesthetic.

Lasting Legacy and Conclusion

The final significant presentation of the group’s designs was at the Dutch Pavilion at the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The Amsterdam School was a unique and influential architectural movement characterised by its expressive designs and use of colour. It was influenced by H. P. Berlage and various art movements, leaving a lasting impact on global architecture, including colonial regions. The movement’s approach to architecture as a form of visual and multimodal argumentation remains a subject of academic interest and reflection.

Sources

Amsterdam School. (2023, July 29). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_School

Constant, S. (2021). Bricks as arguments. Journal of Argumentation in Context. https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.20012.con.

Figueiredo, S. (2019). Thinking through Building The Eindhoven School. Practice of Teaching | Teaching of Practice: The Teacher’s Hunch. https://doi.org/10.35483/acsa.teach.2019.4.

Hartono, S., & Handinoto, H. (2007). “THE AMSTERDAM SCHOOL” DAN PERKEMBANGAN ARSITEKTUR KOLONIAL DI HINDIA BELANDA ANTARA 1915-1940. Journal of Architecture and Built Environment, 35, 46-58. https://doi.org/10.9744/DIMENSI.35.1.PP..

Ligtelijn, V. (2019). Aldo van Eyck and the Amsterdam playgrounds. Education and Reuse. https://doi.org/10.52200/61.a.n2t5pk5p.

Rovinelli, H. (1984). H. P. Berlage and the Amsterdam School, 1914-1920: Rationalist as Expressionist. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 43, 256-264. https://doi.org/10.2307/990006.

Woodham, J. Amsterdam School. In A Dictionary of Modern Design. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 Jun. 2024

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