The Delft School (Dutch: Delftse School) is a traditionalist Dutch architectural movement of roughly 1925–1955, gathered around the professor M.J. Granpré Molière at the Delft Technical University. It stands in direct opposition to the modernism of the Nieuwe Bouwen movement, and consciously looked back to handcrafted, traditional building methods.
Background
Granpré Molière became a professor in Delft in 1924 and converted to Catholicism shortly afterwards. From a religious-philosophical conviction, he argued for an architecture that would express the “eternal” values of order, hierarchy and community. He saw the international style — with its abstraction, glass and steel — as “uprooted”.
Characteristics
The Delft School is relatively easy to recognise by:
- Use of materials — brick, clay roof tiles, timber and natural stone; rarely exposed concrete or steel
- Symmetrical facades — quiet compositions with a clearly defined entrance
- Steep pitched roofs — usually with clay tiles and overhanging eaves
- Small, vertical windows — with traditional muntin patterns and shutters
- Traditional detailing — wall anchors, brick toothing, keystones, cornices
- Urban design — closed perimeter blocks, courtyards and squares laid out along classical lines
Important architects
Besides Granpré Molière himself, prominent members include:
- A.J. Kropholler — churches, town halls and offices in a strictly traditional manner
- J.F. Berghoef — known for his entry in the Amsterdam city hall competition
- F.P.J. Peutz — designer of, among others, the Schunck department store in Heerlen
- C. Pouderoyen — churches and residential schemes
Influence and criticism
The Delft School dominated Dutch post-war reconstruction. Many bombed-out town centres (Rhenen, Wageningen, parts of Rotterdam and Middelburg) were rebuilt in a Delft-School idiom. From the 1950s onwards the movement was criticised as old-fashioned, and modernism regained the upper hand. Today many Delft-School buildings have heritage protection and the urban quality of these neighbourhoods is widely appreciated again.
Related terms
- Bossche School
- Nieuwe Bouwen
- Amsterdam School
- Post-war reconstruction
- Architectural style
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