1,720,970 research outputs found
Sluizen in de ‘derrie’: Sluisbouw in zestiende-eeuws Holland als proeftuin voor bouwen op slappe bodem
Full text linkIn the years 1540–1570, sluice construction in the Low Countries underwent an important transition. In addition to the introduction of mitre gates, the increasing use of stone was a vitally important innovation. The advantage of this building material was that it prolonged the lifespan of sluices and made it possible to build larger ones, with considerable benefits for shipping and water management. The improved sluices in turn contributed greatly to the rise and prosperity of the Dutch Republic. These new hydraulic works were much heavier than their wooden predecessors and needed to be securely anchored in the marshy clay and peat substratum. The structural aspects of sluice construction have been largely neglected to date. Sluice construction is regarded as a niche subject and as such cannot expect much attention from architectural historians. Unjustly so, because the construction of sluices did not evolve in a vacuum; it was a major task for municipal architects and contractors in the towns of the County of Holland. There are also indications that the structural challenges presented by building heavy stone sluices in the soft soils of Holland were crucial to the development of a scientific approach to building in peatland areas.Contemporary discussions about the best foundation engineering solutions for sluices shows that there were no standard solutions and that experts with a wide range of backgrounds were involved in their construction. We still have few details about the design of foundations in the sixteenth century and the extent to which the transition from wood to stone sluices contributed to the development of engineering solutions for improved foundations in general. Both experts and clients sought maximum certainty in an arena where knowledge was still evolving. Learning by example was essential and technical drawings and models became increasingly important tools for recording such acquired knowledge. A new, supra-regional knowledge network that included the southern Low Countries as well as Holland promoted the dissemination of new knowledge and expertise.
The interconnection of sluice building with urban and church building projects means that rather than being a niche subject, the construction of stone sluices had wider implications. It provided a testing ground for building on soft soils whereby the exchange of knowledge, soil research, and concrete experiments during construction delivered vital knowledge and expertise for building in peat.In de jaren 1540–70 maakte de sluisbouw in de Lage Landen een belangrijke transitie door. Naast de introductie van puntdeuren was het toenemend gebruik van steen een wezenlijke innovatie. Dit bouwmateriaal had het voordeel dat de levensduur van sluizen verlengd werd en ze ook groter gemaakt konden worden, wat aanzienlijke voordelen bood voor de scheepvaart en waterbeheer: de verbeterde sluizen hebben daardoor een essentiële bijdrage geleverd aan de opkomst en bloei van de Republiek. Deze nieuwe waterbouwkundige werken waren veel zwaarder dan hun houten voorgangers en moesten goed gefundeerd worden in de moerassige ondergrond bestaande uit klei en veen. De bouwtechnische aspecten van de bouw van sluizen zijn nog onderbelicht. Sluisbouw vormt een niche die nauwelijks op aandacht van architectuurhistorici kan rekenen. Dat is onterecht, want het bouwen van sluizen ontwikkelde zich niet in een vacuüm; het was een belangrijke opdracht voor stadbouwmeesters en aannemers in de Hollandse steden. Ook zijn er aanwijzingen dat de constructieve uitdagingen van het aanleggen van zware stenen sluizen in de slappe Hollandse bodem belangrijk zijn geweest voor een wetenschappelijke benadering van het bouwen in veengebieden.
De eigentijdse discussies over de beste funderingstechnieken voor sluizen laten zien dat er geen standaardoplossingen bestonden en dat experts met uiteenlopende achtergronden bij de bouw betrokken waren. Het is nog onduidelijk hoe het ontwerpproces van funderingen in de zestiende eeuw eruitzag en in hoeverre de transitie van houten naar stenen sluizen een bijdrage heeft geleverd in de ontwikkeling van verbeterde funderingstechnieken in het algemeen. Zowel experts als hun opdrachtgevers zochten naar zoveel mogelijk zekerheid in een veld waarin de kennis nog in ontwikkeling was. Het leren van andere voorbeelden was wezenlijk en om kennis vast te leggen werd werden technische tekeningen en maquettes steeds belangrijker. Er ontstond een bovenregionaal kennisnetwerk dat niet beperkte tot Holland, maar ook de zuidelijke Lage Landen omvatte en dat een snelle verspreiding van nieuwe kennis en kunde bevorderde.
De verwevenheid met stedelijke en kerkelijke bouwprojecten, maakt dat de aanleg van stenen sluizen niet een niche was maar bredere implicaties had. Het bood een proeftuin voor het bouwen op slappe bodem waarbij de uitwisseling van kennis, bodemonderzoek en de concrete experimenten tijdens het bouwen noodzakelijke kennis en kunde opleverden voor het bouwen in het veen
Boekbespreking
Full text linkE. Gerritsen
Zeventiende-eeuwse architectuurtekeningen: De tekening in de ontwerp- en bouwpraktijk in de Nederlandse Republiek
Zwolle (Waanders) 2006, 287 pp.E. Gerritsen
Zeventiende-eeuwse architectuurtekeningen: De tekening in de ontwerp- en bouwpraktijk in de Nederlandse Republiek
Zwolle (Waanders) 2006, 287 pp
Architecture as profession : the origins of architectural practice in the low countries in the fifteenth century
No full textHURX Merlijn Architecture as profession : the origins of architectural practice in the low countries in the fifteenth century Turnhout : Brepols, 2017, 2018, 459 p. Collection Architectura moderna ; 13 ISBN 978-2-503-56825-6 EUR 987 Résumé éditeur : Fifteenth-century Florence is generally considered the cradle of the modern architect. There, for the first time since Antiquity, the Vitruvian concept which distinguishes between builder and designer was recognised in architectural theory, causi..
The Third EAHN Meeting in Turin: A Roundup
Full text linkTurin, the home of a lively community of historians and a city that has attracted the interest of architectural and urban historians across the whole 20th century, was chosen to host the Third EAHN Meeting in 2014. In accordance with the network’s spirit of enhancing communication and encouraging the exchange of research outputs well beyond the boundaries of the European framework, the Third Meeting welcomed a large international community of scholars who delivered and discussed 157 papers and discussion positions. With the aim of recording some of the major outcomes of this very intense programme, seven delegates were asked to review the key issues emerging from the conference sessions, and to outline their underlying methodologies. The result is a cross-section of the discipline that highlights a composite tableau of approaches to the study of the built environment and raises a series of issues affecting our area of investigation, its competencies, instruments, and objects of research
Het Paleis aan de Maas : Giudici’s nieuwe zeemagazijn van de Rotterdamse Admiraliteit (1785-1788)
Full text linkThe new arsenal for the ‘Admiralty of the Meuse’, built between 1785 and 1788 on Reuzeneiland on the east side of Rotterdam, was one of the Dutch Republic’s largest structures, yet it has been all but forgotten since it burned to the ground in 1891. Fifteen surviving design drawings by its architect, the Italian Giovanni Giudici (1746-1819), provide insight into the design phases, technical detailing and the evolving design of the facade and interior. The arsenal’s primary function was to store naval weaponry and ship’s supplies. However, its architecture belied this utilitarian purpose. The symmetrical, monumental facade with checked pilaster strips, main floor, balconies and sculptures on the crowning attic block lent the building a palatial aura and explains why it was also known as ‘the Palace’. Giudici’s design differed from Daniël Stalpaert’s seventeenth-century warehouses for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Amsterdam Admiralty. Although also of monumental design, their warehouse function was clearly visible in the their exteriors.
The palatial design of the Rotterdam arsenal had to do with the building’s hybrid nature: part warehouse, part office and part ‘events hall’. In addition to storage spaces, workshops and offices, a large part of the building was reserved for ceremonial rooms. The west wing included a grand entrance hall, a library room, an armoury and a salon overlooking the river. Another surprising presence in an arsenal was a huge kitchen equipped for large banquets. The central wing contained a huge multifunctional space with an eleven-metre clear span made possible by a massive auxiliary structure from which the floor joists of the second storey were suspended. This space could be used for storage, but also for large-scale affairs like the visit of Tsar Alexander I in 1814.
Thanks to its location at the bend in the river Maas, with a specially designed water-facing facade, the arsenal occupied a prominent place in Rotterdam’s cityscape. As such it was in keeping with wider eighteenth-century trends whereby admiralty buildings, in addition to their function as logistical infrastructure, also gave expression to military and political ambitions. This Rotterdam example demonstrates how utilitarian architecture could be deployed for visual representation on an urban scale and an analysis of its building history contributes to a better understanding of the role of maritime architecture in the late eighteenth-century Republic.Het nieuwe zeemagazijn van de Admiraliteit op de Maze, gebouwd tussen 1785 en 1788 op het Reuzeneiland aan de oostkant van Rotterdam, was een van de grootste bouwwerken uit de Republiek der Nederlanden, desalniettemin is het nadat het in 1891 afbrandde bijna geheel in de vergetelheid geraakt. Vijftien bewaarde ontwerptekeningen van de architect, de Italiaan Giovanni Giudici (1746-1819), geven inzicht in de ontwerpfases, technische detaillering en veranderende vormgeving van façade en interieur. Het zeemagazijn had primair de functie van opslag van wapentuig en scheepsmateriaal. Toch verried de architectuur deze utilitaire bestemming niet. De symmetrische, monumentale gevel met geblokte lisenen, bel-etage, balkons en beeldhouwwerk op het bekronende attiekblok gaf het gebouw een paleisachtig voorkomen. Vandaar dat het zeemagazijn in Rotterdam ook wel bekend stond als het ‘Paleis’. Giudici’s ontwerp week af van Stalpaerts zeventiende-eeuwse pakhuizen van de VOC en Amsterdamse Admiraliteit, die weliswaar ook een monumentale vormgeving hadden, maar waarvan de functie als pakhuis zichtbaar tot uitdrukking kwam in het exterieur.
De paleisachtige vormgeving van het Rotterdamse magazijn hield verband met het hybride karakter van het gebouw: deels pakhuis, deels kantoor en deels ‘evenementenhal’. Naast opslagruimtes, werkplaatsen en kantoren was een aanzienlijk deel van het gebouw bestemd voor representatieve vertrekken. Het westelijke paviljoen bevatte onder andere een monumentale vestibule, een bibliotheekkamer, een wapenkamer en een salon met uitzicht op de rivier. Opvallend voor een magazijn is ook de aanwezigheid van een forse keuken die was toegerust voor grote eetfestijnen. In het middenpaviljoen werd een enorme multifunctionele ruimte gecreëerd met een vrije overspanning van elf meter, mogelijk gemaakt door een zware hulpconstructie, waaraan de vloerbalken van de tweede verdieping werden opgehangen. Deze ruimte kon worden gebruikt voor opslag, maar ook voor grootschalige evenementen, zoals het bezoek van tsaar Alexander I in 1814.
Door zijn ligging in de bocht van de Maas, met een bewust ontworpen façade gericht op de waterzijde, speelde het zeemagazijn een prominente rol in het stadsbeeld van Rotterdam. Daarmee sluit het aan bij bredere achttiende-eeuwse ontwikkelingen waarin admiraliteitsgebouwen niet alleen als logistieke infrastructuur fungeerden, maar ook militaire en politieke ambities tot uitdrukking brachten. Het Rotterdamse voorbeeld toont hoe utilitaire architectuur kon worden ingezet voor visuele representatie op stedelijke schaal en de bouwhistorische analyse ervan draagt bij aan een beter begrip van de rol van maritieme bouwkunst in de late achttiende-eeuwse Republiek
Architecten en gildedwang; vernieuwingen in de ontwerppraktijk in de vijftiende en zestiende eeuw?
Full text linkThis article challenges the assumed breach between the medieval master builder and the Renaissance architect, as it is still presented in the literature.
For the Netherlands the differences and similarities in the design practice between the fifteenth and sixteenth century have been insufficiently researched. The assumption that in practice, under the influence of architectural theory and the arrival of Italian artists, drastic changes in the position of the architect occurred in the sixteenth century, is largely based on two arguments. A new status was supposed to be evident from the introduction of the word ‘architect’ in the Dutch language, as well as from the greater freedom achieved in relation to the guilds in the towns; for the first time the architect was said to have broken away from the social environment of the craftsman. In this article a critical study of both arguments is made. It will become apparent that greater continuity existed within the design practice. Although architectural theory presented new rhetorical arguments, a supraregional circuit of specialised craftsmen already existed before the sixteenth century. Just as in the sixteenth century, their freedom usually depended on the authority of the commissioner. In addition, even in the fifteenth century exceptional expertise was appealed to in some cases in order to be exempted from the obligations set by the guilds, when local workers lacked the required know-how and skills. The existence of a supra-urban circuit as well as a local market explains an old antithesis in historiography; it demonstrates how the obligations set by the guilds as well as the great mobility of architects and workers could be combined in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Middeleeuwse 'prefab' in de Nederlanden? De Hollandse kerken van de Antwerpse loodsmeester Evert Spoorwater
Full text linkThe first study, which touched upon the phenomenon of commercial gothic in the Netherlands, was carried out twenty years ago by the Dutch architectural historian Ruud Meischke. Meischke proposed that in the fifteenth century, as a consequence of high transportation costs and tolls, stones for building were increasingly cut into shape in the quarries in the southern Netherlands rather than at the building site.
At the end of the century major parts of churches were delivered as a kind of 'prefab' that could be assembled on the spot. Since Meischke published his challenging thesis about prefabrication and export architecture, it has attracted the attention of an international scholarly audience. However, it still lacks a profound basis and until now it was not known in which ways the changes in the 'late gothic' building practice influenced architectural design.
By comparing details of many churches in the Netherlands, my paper will elaborate on the ways in which prefabrication in the quarries of Brabant generated the spread of specific architectural strategies and architectural forms. I will argue that the physical separation of cutting and assembling implied several technical limitations which, amongst other factors, can explain the preference for columns instead of compound piers in Holland.
In particular, the constructional imperfections indicate that this construction system depending on the column provided the flexibility required for the assemblage of export architecture. Furthermore, I will suggest that the increasing importance of commercial stone trade was significant for the standardisation of an architectural repertoire.
I made detailed studies of the mouldings of the most important churches in the Low Countries. By connecting the results of this 'categorised analysis' to archival material, it has been possible to discern products developed by the masons workshops at the quarries. In analysing commercial gothic, my research shows that the development of architectural design and changes in the building industry went hand in hand from their earliest beginnings
'Een alten wonderlijcken structure ende fortresse'. De Blauwe Toren van Karel de Stoute in Gorinchem
Full text linkDespite its significance as the only Burgundian residence built ex novo in the Northern Netherlands, little is known about Charles the Bold’s castle in Gorinchem. The Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower) was constructed between 1462 and 1478 when Charles was still Count of Charolais, but the ill-fated castle was demolished at the end of the sixteenth century. Until now, there have been few sources of information on the tower, but an in-depth analysis of newly discovered archival material has revealed the names of the master builders and suppliers of building materials, as well as the dates of the chief building campaigns.
Charles invited the most prominent architects active in the Northern Netherlands, including Jacob van der Borch, master of works at Utrecht Cathedral, Master Claes of Saint John’s in ’s-Hertogenbosch, and Evert Spoorwater, master of works on various important churches in Brabant and Holland. The main designer of the castle, however, was Jean Marchant. His name has fallen in oblivion, but in his own time he was an important master builder; before arriving in Gorinchem, he had been master of works at Palais Rihour, Philip the Good’s residence in Lille.
Besides names and dates, archival sources have also allowed the exact reconstruction of the internal layout, thereby spectacularly altering the understanding of its design. Hitherto, the castle’s conspicuous round tower was believed to accord with the thirteenth-century tradition of large donjons. However, this research shows that the tower had an exceptionally large diameter of some 35 metres and a central courtyard around which the main formal rooms were organized on the bel étage. The residential quarters of Charles and his wife Isabella of Bourbon were smaller than the ducal apartments of the Coudenberg Palace and Palais Rihour, but included rooms that clearly reflect their high status. Particularly rare at that time, was the existence of a stove and a room to store spices. The tower’s dimensions, the open courtyard, and the fact that the formal rooms were all on the same level indicate that the building had little in common with the traditional keep typology, but instead resembled the exceptional design of circular castles like Castell de Bellver on Mallorca, and Queenborough Castle and the Windsor Castle keep in England
'Een alten wonderlijcken structure ende fortresse' de Blauwe Toren van Karel de Stoute in Gorinchem
No full textDe zeventiende-eeuwse modernisering van het stadhuis van 's-Hertogenbosch
Full text linkIn this article the 17th-century modernisation of the town hall of ' s -Hertogenbosch is explored. The central question is how fundamental the transformation of the medieval town hall was. The major part of the conversion was the new natural stone facade. This façade, designed by Pieter Minne and Dirk van der Lith, follows a scheme going back to the type of the Italian villa. It is not clear whether the architects actually reverted to the Italian tracts.
For practical reasons the proportions of the facade deviate from the Standard rules. but nevertheless the facade is not at all provincial in character. Among other things, this appears from a comparable and more recent design for a town hall by Philip Vingboons. The modernisation was not limited to a cosmetic intervention.
As opposed to other seventeenth-century modernisations of town halls, in 's-Hertogenbosch the entire internal disposition was changed drastically. A clustering of medieval dwellings was thereby converted into one single building with a rational layout. Although the floor plan is dependent on the old situation, the town hall has a successful disposition, going back to the villa type, just as the facade.
The fact that the new layout of the town hall was not just an unfortunate compromise to the medieval situation, follows from the similar layout of the more recent town hall of Enkhuizen, where earlier buildings did not play a part. Consequently, it can be stated that the town hall of 's-Hertogenbosch is not only characterised by the renovated façade, but also by its modern typology
- …
