Contemporary but not modern

Abstract

The Amsterdam architect Arnold Ingwersen (1882-1959) left behind a substantial body of work, yet it is still largely undocumented and has left very few traces in Dutch architectural history. One reason for this was Ingwersen's lack of affinity with the architectural world of his day; in the 1920s and 1930s he did not belong to any of the movements now regarded as of historical importance. His orthodox Protestant views were incompatible with those of his modernist confreres. As an introduction to the work of Arnold Ingwersen, this article first sketches his background: his Protestant youth and his long apprenticeship in the profession of architect. This is followed by a brief account of his architectural oeuvre, which is characterized by a craftsmanlike and sober style that, combined with a certain purism, was contemporary but not modernist. Compositions of brick volumes with alternating horizontal and vertical elements were accentuated by means of different roof forms and a rhythmic disposition of windows, bays and dormers, supplemented by recurring archetypical motifs like arches, chimneys and pointed gables. A meticulous detailing of ‘pure’ forms was also typical of his work. Ingwersen’s commissions emanated from his own Protestant community. Initially, the Patrimonium housing association provided the bulk of those commissions, but later on other contacts within the Protestant network and organizations became his main clients. Public housing projects in Amsterdam – in collaboration with Tjeerd Kuipers – constitute an important component of his oeuvre. In the mid-1920s Ingwersen ventured outside this field as an independent architect, designing schools, churches, homes for the aged and private houses. Relatively little is known about his private housing commissions. In a class apart are the hostels he built in Limburg and Brabant (in particular Eindhoven) for Protestant workers from the north. In the mid-1930s Ingwersen turned to renovations of which the Valeriuskliniek in Amsterdam was a major commission. Ingwersen in addition wrote articles and books, chiefly serving his ‘own circle’, such as the Protestant newspaper De Standaard. In 1935, when his career as architect was at an end, he addressed the much wider readership of De Telegraaf in a series of articles critical of modernist colleagues. The ensuing fierce debate whereby Ingwersen became an object of scorn and alienated himself still further from his profession is discussed, along with In Holland stond een huis (1950), the book in which Ingwersen expounded his ideas about the importance of Calvinist culture for Dutch architecture and town planning. Notwithstanding the moralizing tone of his publications, Ingwersen’s architectural work is not without its own special merits, witness the fact that several have been heritage listed. A considerable number of his buildings have been demolished, while others have yet to be tracked down. Nevertheless, greater attention to the architecture and underlying ideas of Arnold Ingwersen (as one of many who operated outside the well-known movements) can help to foster a broader understanding and appreciation of relatively unknown architecture in the first decades of the twentieth century.