Klaus Kinold's wonderful black and white photographs capture five striking buildings by Herman Hertzberger. The new volume by Wolfgang Jean Stock, published by Hirmer-Verlag, honours the incomparable Dutch architect and his attitude.
Text: Sandra Hofmeister
Herman Hertzberger_Centraal Beheer Apeldoorn_Foto Klaus Kinold 1990, © Klaus Kinold-Stiftung Architektur + Fotografie, München
Architecture and social mission
There are some aspects of architecture that Herman Hertzberger consistently adhered to in the 1970s and which are often decisive for architectural processes today. Participation is one of these aspects, especially in school construction. Another characteristic of the Dutchman's designs is the skilful integration of his buildings with the urban context. In buildings such as the Vredenburg Music Centre in Utrecht (1973-1978), Hertzberger interwove it with the new building out of conviction and an understanding of democracy. His attitude has prevailed - the context is decisive for many designs. The days of ‘fuck context’, to quote another famous Dutchman, are over.
Herman Hertzberger, Apollo-Schulen Amsterdam, 1980–1983, Foto Klaus Kinold, 1985 © Klaus Kinold-Stiftung Architektur + Fotografie, München
Concrete blocks and democracy
According to the architect, born in 1932, architecture can only make sense if it ‘demonstrably contributes to improving people's living conditions’. Herman Hertzberger is a philanthropist. In his view, architecture should have a social mission, which it realises in buildings that are open to the flexible needs of their users. The proximity to the ideas of the structuralist and anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and the split from CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d' Architecture Moderne) had already been taken up by Aldo van Eyck in the 1950s. His successor Herman Hertzberger made Dutch structuralism internationally recognised. Some buildings from his international portfolio are milestones in architecture today. Herzberger built schools, retirement homes, residential complexes and office buildings that were fully committed to democracy in their structures. Many of his designs are characterised by their lack of hierarchies and their simple choice of materials. The concrete blocks in particular catch the eye, set against light-coloured exposed brickwork with fine joints.
Herman Hertzberger, Apollo-Schulen Amsterdam, 1980–1983, Foto Klaus Kinold, 1985 © Klaus Kinold-Stiftung Architektur + Fotografie, München
Five buildings and their basic principles
In the new volume ‘Herman Hertzberger. Strukturalismus / Structuralism’, Wolfgang Jean Stock portrays a total of five buildings by Herman Herzberger in concise and informative texts that contribute to understanding. The impressive photos from Klaus Kinold's archive are predominantly black and white, which emphasises Hertzberger's architectural language. The basic principles of his architecture become visible in high-contrast shots: the simple materials, clear volumes and lines, the skilful use of light in the interior, and not least the renunciation of representation. In addition to the Centraal Beheer administration building in Appeldorn (1968-1972), the Apollo schools in Amsterdam are also documented, whose reform pedagogy is in many ways reminiscent of today's endeavours and school reforms. Form, function and freedom - for Herman Hertzberger, these three keywords belong together. This beautiful hardback presents the Dutchman's legacy. It is high time we learnt from Hertzberger's unobtrusive and consistent architecture as a role model.
Wolfgang Jean Stock, „Herman Hertzberger, Strukturalismus / Structuralism“, Klaus Kinold (ed.), photographs by Klaus Kinold, Deutsch/English, 80 pages, 64 illustrations, 19 drawings, 21 x 31,5 cm, Hardcover, Hirmer, München 2025
