What is structuralism?
Structuralism is an architectural movement that emerged in the Netherlands from the late 1950s, in which a building is assembled from many small, often identical units that together form an open structure. It was a reaction against the functionalism of CIAM, which the structuralists felt had produced cities without identity. Its ideas were set out in the Dutch journal Forum, and Aldo van Eyck and Jaap Bakema are seen as its founders.
Well-known examples are the Amsterdam Orphanage (Burgerweeshuis) by Aldo van Eyck (1960), the Centraal Beheer office building in Apeldoorn by Herman Hertzberger (1972) and Piet Blom’s cube houses at the Oude Haven in Rotterdam (1980s).
Recognising it
- Repeated small units: square pavilions, small domes, columns or cubes laid out on a grid.
- Open structure: the building is a framework that users complete themselves. At Centraal Beheer, Hertzberger designed the work islands so that staff could arrange them themselves.
- Human scale: many small spaces rather than large halls, with niches, steps and corners to sit in.
- The in-between: transitional zones between inside and outside or private and public, such as a raised doorstep or a covered entrance.
- Raw materials: often fair-faced concrete, concrete blocks and glass.
Application
If you are buying or altering a structuralist building, keep these points in mind:
- Check its heritage status. In the Netherlands, look in the national monuments register and ask the municipality about local protection. In the UK, check whether a comparable building is listed.
- Respect the grid. The repetition is the whole idea. An extension that breaks the rhythm of the units changes the character most.
- Understand the structure. Exposed columns and beams are usually load-bearing; have a structural engineer check before removing anything.
- Mind the building physics. Buildings of this period often have cold bridges and little insulation. Internal insulation keeps the exterior intact but needs careful detailing.
Common mistake: filling in the irregular in-between spaces to gain floor area. Those spaces are what make the building work.
Related terms
- Functionalism
- Brutalism
- Modernism
- Cube house
- Listed building
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