People:
- J.J.P. Oud (architect)
- J.J.P. Oud (draughtsman)
- E.M. van Ojen (photographer)
- Dr. Lossen & Co. (photographic studio)
- J.H.P. Coppens (photographer)
- Gem: Werken (photographic studio)
- Eva Besnyö (photographer)
- Jan Kamman (photographer)
- Jan Versnel (photographer)
- Willem Marinus Dudok (architect)
- A.A. van Nieuwenhuyzen (architect)
- Theo van Doesburg (architect)
- Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (correspondence writer)
Title:
J.J.P. Oud Collection
Date:
1908-1966 (1911-1963 predominant)
Form:
archives
Level of archival description:
Collection institutionnelle
Extent and medium:
- 487 drawings
94 prints
326 photographs
2 textual documents.
Scope and content:
The J.J.P. Oud Collection documents J.J.P. Oud's life and work as an architect between 1911 and 1973. The materials in this collection are primarily dated between 1917-1963, and feature drawings by Oud, as well as photographs of Oud buildings. The collection also includes a limited amount of Oud's correspondence as well as portraits of Oud. The J.J.P. Oud Collection is particularly strong in Oud's designs for social housing projects while he served as municipal architect for Rotterdam during and after the First World War. The collection also includes designs for private and public clients in the Netherlands and Europe. The collection consists of 3 series. Series 1 documents Oud's architectural and design projects, including executed and unrealized designs for buildings, competitions, interior design, exhibits, furniture, and World War Two memorials. Series 2 documents correspondence and posters for Oud exhibitions in Germany and the Netherlands. Series 3 contains portraits of Oud with his family members and contemporaries.
References:
Taverne, Ed, Martien De Vletter, and Cor Wagenaar. J.J.P. Oud, Poetic Functionalist: The Complete Works, 1890-1963. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2001.
Arrangement:
CCA staff and researchers arranged the materials into series and projects based on their research on Oud's work as an architect and designer.
Biographical notes:
From 1910-1912 Oud attended Delft Technical College before leaving for Munich and work with Theodor Fischer – here Oud learned principles of urban design before establishing his practice in Purmerend, in 1912. In 1913 Oud moved to Leiden where he became involved with art circles, helping found the De Sphinx art club. To escape conscription during World War I, Oud was officially employed as assistant architect for the Nederlandsche Bank.
From 1917 -1921 Oud was involved with De Stijl, the art criticism magazine that he helped found with artist Theo van Doesburg. Oud published seven articles within De Stijl and also wrote for other periodicals, acting as architectural editor for the Amsterdam periodical, i.10. Oud also collaborated with artists Van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian on public housing and private residences and was invited to exhibit his designs, including Stuttgart’s Weissenhofsiedlung exhibit of model suburban homes at the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar.
In the 1920s Oud worked prolifically as a municipal architect for the Rotterdam Housing Authority (Rotterdam Woningdienst), from 1918 until 1933, designing large-scale public housing for low income residents. While establishing his practice in Hillesberg in 1933, Oud struggled financially and accepted commissions for furniture design, villas, and interior design. He was then asked in 1937 to design offices for the Batavian Import Company (Shell Building) in The Hague.
During the 1930s Oud’s work and contribution to modernism were recognized at the Museum of Modern Art’s "International Style" exhibition of 1931-1932. Post World War II, Oud was involved with reconstruction plans for Rotterdam and with the design of war memorials. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Oud returned to work on public buildings.
The Technical College of Delft recognized Oud’s contributions to architecture and Dutch modernism with an honorary doctorate in 1955. In contemporary publications Oud expressed his dislike for the changing stylistic direction of modernism and worked in private practice, accepting commissions for large-scale public buildings. He also wrote a book on his role in De Stijl in 1960. In 1963 Oud died while working in private practice near The Hague, and before the completed construction of his design for The Congress Building.
References:
Langmead, Donald. J.J.P. Oud and the International Style: A Bio-bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Architectural Association, The original drawings of J.J.P. Oud: 1890-1963. London: Architectural Association, 1979.
Stamm, Gunther. The Architecture of J. J. P. Oud: 1906-1963; an Exhibition of Drawings, Plans and Photographs from the Archives of Mrs. J. M. A. Oud-Dinaux, Wassenaar, Holland.Tallahassee: Univ. Pr. of Florida, 1978.
Taverne, Ed, Martien De Vletter, and Cor Wagenaar. J.J.P. Oud, Poetic Functionalist: The Complete Works, 1890-1963. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2001.
Conditions governing access:
- Open for use by qualified researchers. Access by appointment only.
Conditions governing reproduction:
- For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the collection, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).
Credit line:
Collection Centre Canadien d'Architecture/
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal
