Mackintosh’s Hill House Becomes an International Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Czech Classics
Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 1
At Plečnik House: To Decide Where the Shadow Falls
Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 2
A Story of Burnt Books and Broken Bricks
Iconic Encounters: London
Remembering Irving J. Gill
Iconic Houses in the Media
Interview in Leading Catalan newspaper ARA
Bauhaus Villa in Berlin For Sale
Historical Exhibition, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Painter, Conversation
Our Badge of Honour
Istanbul’s Modernist Ataköy Housing Estate is At Risk
Early Furniture Designs by Le Corbusier on Permanent Display in Maison Blanche
Photo Report City Icons Amsterdam
Healing Through Architecture
Reopening An Iconic Modernist Landmark
City Icons Kick Off with Talk by Linda Vlassenrood
MORE MIES - Pure Architecture in Haus Lange Haus Esters
Through a Bauhaus Lens: Edith Tudor-Hart and Isokon
Modernism Week Lecture: 12 Years of Iconic Houses
Aluminaire House Grand Opening
Exhibition Icons of the Czech Avant-Garde
An Elementalist and Mediterranean Architecture
Icon for Sale - Loos Villa: Haus Horner
SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams Europe - Sleep in an Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams North America - Sleep in an Iconic House!
SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!
SPECIAL - Vacances en France!
SPECIAL – German Greats!
SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!
SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!
SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies
SPECIAL – Iconic Collective Housing
SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses
Public Screenings and Private Streaming of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Support the Frankfurt Declaration (on Housing)
Winy Wants a World Wonder
Welcome Atelier Volten!
Sleep in a Modernist Gem – Huis Billiet in Bruges
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - 100 Years Van Zessen House
Exclusive Tour and Film Screening Package
The Last House Designed by Adolf Loos Will Be Built in Prague
Icons of the Czech Avantgarde
Icon for Sale - Casa Legorreta
Rietveld Day: 200 Enthusiasts Explored 3 Utrecht Icons
Hurray! 10 Years Iconic Houses
7th International Iconic Houses Conference A Huge Success
Meet Conference Co-Chair Iveta Černá
Meet Conference Co-Chair Maria Szadkowska
Eighteen Iconic Houses Under One Roof
17 June - 'Pioneers-film' Screening Amersfoort
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Eesteren House Museum
Welcome Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Zentrum in Vienna!
Welcome Vila Volman! Jewel of Czech Functionalism
Movie Night: Adolf Loos- Revolutionary Among Architects
'Inside Iconic Houses' Case Study House #26 Webcast in Webshop
Inside Iconic Houses at Taut’s Home in Berlin
Rediscovering Forgotten Loos Interiors in Pilsen
'Inside Iconic Houses' - Online Tour Program
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - The Diagoon House
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Houses Owners Association
Corberó Space: New Life for Hidden Jewel
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Pierre Cuypers' House and Workshops
Reeuwijk Celebrates Completion of Restoration Rietveld Homes!
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Doesburg Rinsema House
Welcome Rietveld's Van Daalen House!
Architect Harry Gessner Passed Away at 97
Watch Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House Now On Demand
Icon Saved: Dorchester Drive House
Welcome Umbrella House!
Iconic Houses in the Netherlands – Berlage’s Masterpiece
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Het Schip
Inside Iconic Houses - Tour of Maison Cazenave
Inside Iconic Houses Tours Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami
Casa Masó Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
Inside Iconic Houses tours Roland Reisley's Usonian Frank Lloyd Wright House
Rietveld’s Experimental Housing in Reeuwijk Saved
Serralves Villa after restoration
Portraits of the Architect - Interview with Gennaro Postiglione
Test Labs for New Ideas - Interview with Natascha Drabbe
Inside Iconic Houses - Isokon Building
Inside Iconic Houses - 16 December: Sunnylands with Janice Lyle
BCN-BXL Coderch-De Koninck - Beyond Time
New Chairman Architect Nanne de Ru on The Perfect Platform
Health and Home - Interview with Beatriz Colomina
A Life Less Ordinary – Interview with Valentijn Carbo
Invisible Women - Interview with Alice T. Friedman
Winy Maas on the Green Dip
Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s
Women’s Worlds - Interview with Natalie Dubois
The Culture of Living - Interview with Robert von der Nahmer
Hetty Berens: A Fresh Take on Modernism
Niek Smit on Supporting Modern Heritage
Alice Roegholt on Amsterdam’s Working-Class Palaces
July is Iconic Houses Month
Hans van Heeswijk on The Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Wessel de Jonge on Dutch Icons at Risk
Save Maison Zilveli - Sign the Petition!
How a Building Tells a Story - Recorded Event
Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House
13 Aalto Sites Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage
Villa Beer At Risk - Sign the Petition!
Business Cards of Stone, Timber and Concrete in the Brussels Region 1830-1970
Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments
Fostering Well-Researched Responsible Design
ICONS AT RISK
Enjoy a virtual visit to the California House and a Q&A with architect Peter Gluck
Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'
A Hidden Gem of Postmodernism
New Centre for Historic Houses of India
An Online Chronicle of the Douglas House
Villa Henny, geometric style icon in The Netherlands
A Mendini temple in Amsterdam
IH-lectures USA & Canada Feb 2020 on Melnikov House
Sponsors and Friends
An Afternoon with the Glucks
Chandler McCoy on Making Modern Houses Sustainable
Catherine Croft: Getting Away from the Demolition Mentality in the UK
Patrick Weber on Discovering an Unknown Icon
Fiona Fisher on Iconic Interiors
Jocelyn Bouraly on Villa Cavrois
Mireia Massagué on finding success through a new kind of partnership
Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar
Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s offering
Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra
Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project
We welcome 13 new members!
BREAKING NEWS: 8 Wright Sites Inscribed on Unesco World Heritage List!
LECTURE 29 August - Raymond Neutra: My Father and Frank Lloyd Wright
Iconic Reads
Iconic Houses End Year Message
City-ordered rebuild of landmark house stirs debate: Appropriate or overreach?
Kohlberg House Restoration in Progress
Planned Demolition of Rietveld Homes in Reeuwijk
Renovation Gili House in Crisis
An Iconic Saga
Restoring Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 and Clarifying the Controversies
Modernism on the East Coast
Iconic Houses in Latin America
Conference testimonials
House Tours May 2018
Expert Meetings
Natascha Drabbe - Iconic Houses: The Next Chapter
Terence Riley -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Philip Johnson
New era for Villa E-1027 and Cap Moderne
Hilary Lewis on Philip Johnson and his Glass House
John Arbuckle on Great House Tours
William D. Earls on the Harvard Five in New Canaan
Stover Jenkins on Working for Philip Johnson
Frederick Noyes on his Father’s House
Scott Fellows and Craig Bassam on their Passion for Preservation
Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)
Fabio Grementieri on Modernism in Argentina
Catalina Corcuera Cabezut on Casa Luis Barragán
Renato Anelli on Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro
Tim McClimon on Corporate Preservation
Amanda Nelson on Building Donor Relationships
John Bacon on Planned Giving
Jean-Paul Warmoes on the Art of Fundraising in America
Chandler McCoy on Why Less is More
Katherine Malone-France on Moving with the Times
Anne Mette Rahbæk on Philanthropic Investments and Preservation
Peter McMahon on Saving Modern Houses on Cape Cod
Toshiko Kinoshita on Japanese Modern Heritage Houses
Roland Reisley on Life in a Frank Lloyd Wright House
5th Iconic Houses Conference May 2018
Kristin Stone, Pasadena Tour Company
Restoring the past: The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Home Studio
Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association
Crosby Doe, Architecture for Sale
Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico
De Stijl in Drachten
Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio
Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru
Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil
Jan de Jong’s House is Latest Hendrick de Keyser Acquisition
Stay in a Belgian Modernist Masterpiece
In Berlin’s Modernist Network
Rietveld-Schröder House Celebrates De Stijl Anniversary
Meet Our New Foundation Board Members
Maintaining Aalto's Studio – Linoleum Conservation
Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D
Getty Grant for Villa E-1027
Plečnik House in Ljubljana
Iconic Dacha
Iconic Houses: A Bohemian Road Trip
Work in Progress: Capricho de Gaudí
11 Le Corbusier Homes now on Unesco World Heritage List
At home with Le Corbusier
Henry van de Velde’s Study in Haus Hohe Pappeln Restored
Lynda Waggoner reports
A Conference to Remember
4th International Iconic Houses Conference
Guest of Honor - Harry Gesner
Fallingwater: European Lecture Tour
Wright Plus 2016 Walk
Susan Macdonald, Getty Conservation Institute
John Mcllwee, Garcia House
Meet the Friends – Elisabeth Tostrup
Iconic Houses: The Story So Far
Willie van Burgsteden, designer Iconic Houses
Buff Kavelman, Philanthropic Advisor
Meet the Friends - Frederick Noyes
Sheridan Burke, GML Heritage
Meet the Friends - Raymond Neutra
Sidney Williams, Frey House
Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan, Museum Anarchists
Meet the Friends - James Haefner
Toshiko Mori, architect
Malachi Connolly, Cape Cod Modern House Trust
Meet the Friends - Penny Sparke
Lucia Dewey Atwood, Eames House
Cory Buckner, Mutual Housing Site Office
Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House
Speaking Volumes: Building the Iconic Houses Library
Sarah Lorenzen, Neutra VDL Studio and Residences
Ted Bosley, Gamble House
Keeping It Modern - Getty Conservation Grants
Meet the Friends - Thomas Schönauer
Wim de Wit, Stanford University
Linda Dishman, Los Angeles Conservancy
Jesse Lattig, Pasadena Heritage
Join us in Los Angeles! Update
Work in Progress: Casa Vicens
Work in Progress: Van Wassenhove House
Work in Progress: Villa Cavrois
Work in Progress: The Pearlroth House
Conference calls!
Follow us!
Third Iconic Houses Conference a huge success
Conference House Tours Barcelona
Marta Lacambra, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera
Natascha Drabbe, Iconic Houses Foundation
Special speaker Oscar Tusquets
Jordi Tresserras, UNESCO Network ‘Culture, tourism and development’
Christen Obel, Utzon Foundation
Elena Ruiz Sastre, Casa Broner
Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, La Ricarda
Tim Benton, Professor of Art History (Emeritus)
Susana Landrove, Docomomo Spain
Rossend Casanova, Casa Bloc
Conference Program 25 November 2014
Jordi Falgàs, Casa Rafael Masó
Documentary La Ricarda
Marga Viza, Casa Míla/La Pedrera
Celeste Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright Trust
Conference 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera
Henry Urbach, The Glass House
Victoria & Albert Museum London November 12, 2013
Tommi Lindh, new director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Museum
Iveta Černá, Villa Tugendhat
Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater
Kimberli Meyer, MAK Center
Rent a house designed by Gerrit Rietveld
Barragán House on Screen
Gesamtkunstwerk – An Icon on the Move
Triennale der Moderne 27 September - 13 October 2013
Prestigious Art Nouveau mansions in Brussels open
September 14 + 15: Heritage Days in Paris
June's New Arrivals: Museum Apartments
Iconic Houses is now on Twitter and Facebook
Corbu’s Cabanon: Reconstruction and Lecture
Projekt Mies In Krefeld: Life-sized model of the Krefeld Clubhouse
New arrivals: Spain special
MAMO: Le Corbu’s ‘Park in the Sky’ open 12 June
Taut's Home wins Europa Nostra Award
Annual Wright Architectural Housewalk: 18 May
Frank Lloyd Wright Homes on Screen
Message from the Editor
Neutra’s House on Screen
Michel Richard, Fondation Le Corbusier
Symposium The Public and the Modern House
Melnikov House on Screen
Iconic Houses in the media
Message from the Editor
Round Table Review
Eileen Gray House on Screen
Copy Culture
At Home in the 20th Century
New 20th century Iconic Houses website launches
Philippe Bélaval, Centre des monuments nationaux
Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Pierre Cuypers' House and Workshops
Pierre Cuypers: Grand Master of Neo-Gothic Architecture
On a tour of the most iconic houses in the Netherlands, Natascha Drabbe takes us to the home of Pierre Cuypers, the most important representative of neo-Gothic architecture in the nineteenth century. His home in Roermond was renamed the Cuypershuis in 2011. The museum houses masterpieces originating from Pierre Cuypers as well as objects made or used in the workshops.
Text: Natascha Drabbe
March 3, 2021, marked the hundredth anniversary of P.J.H. Cuypers' death. That Cuypers had his roots in Roermond is not very well known. One rather associates him with Amsterdam, where his two most famous works stand: the Rijksmuseum (1876-1885) and the Central Station (1881-1889). Cuypers, however, was primarily an architect of churches. He designed more than a hundred, of which about seventy were built. In addition to being a successful architect, he was also a project developer and, at the turn of the last century, the Chief Government Architect.
Honoured and reviled
During my art history studies, there was some smirking about the nineteenth century and thus about Cuypers as the grand master of neo-Gothic architecture. That was regarded just regressive and not innovative. Throughout his life and work many common threads can be drawn, such as the emphasis on the importance of craftsmanship, the preference for rational, neo-Gothic architecture and the pursuit of a total work of art. One characteristic dominates his oeuvre: the pursuit of beauty. Cuypers combined colours, patterns and ornaments to his heart's content. Such embellishments were appreciated in his time, but increasingly loathed during the 20th century. Some non-Catholics felt that his architecture took the Netherlands back to the 'dark' Middle Ages.
Recently, Cuypers' oeuvre has been reappraised. Since the opening of the Cuypershuis in Roermond in 2011 and the reopening of 'his' Rijksmuseum in 2013, Pierre Cuypers is once again in the spotlight. In the new permanent presentation at the Cuypershuis, visitors can look over the shoulder of the famous architect to discover how he managed to create his incredible oeuvre. Not only his person and character are highlighted. There is also plenty of attention for his ambitious drive for innovation, his sources of inspiration and his emphasis on craftsmanship.
Life Cycle
Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers was born in Roermond on May 16, 1827, the ninth and youngest child of Joannes Hubertus Cuypers and Maria Joanna Bex. He grew up in his hometown and attended the Municipal (Stedelijk) College there. At the age of seventeen, he leaves for Antwerp to study architecture at the Art Academy. Cuypers is a good student and in 1849 he passes and obtains the Prix d'Excellence. He returns to Roermond and there receives his first major commission: the restoration of the Munster Church. He is then also appointed city architect. In Antwerp, Cuypers meets his first wife, the Antwerp-born Rosalia Vandevin, while studying. They marry in 1850 and have two daughters. Rosalia dies of tuberculosis, as does their second daughter. In 1859, Cuypers remarries Antoinette Alberdingk Thijm. With her, he has two sons and three daughters. His son Joseph and later grandson Pierre jr. become architects like their (grand) father. At the age of ninety-three, Pierre Cuypers died in Roermond. Cuypers' influence can still be seen in many places in downtown Roermond. For example, you will find his statue near the Munster Church on the Munster Square and a Cuypers walk has been set out that takes you past the architect's well-known and lesser-known buildings.
Craftsmanship comes first |
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House and Workshop
In 1853, at the age of twenty-five, Pierre Cuypers designed and built a strikingly symmetrical building on the outskirts of his hometown of Roermond. Not only is it the home for his own family, but there is also plenty of room for workshops. It is a unique complex in which he lived and worked with his many employees. In this 'factory house', Cuypers was able to realise his ideas. The neo-Gothic building is a sample of what he wanted and was capable of as an architect and a showpiece of his artistic views. His calling card is an innovative blend of traditional brick construction (his favourite building material) and international, English-inspired Gothic. The austere facades of the workshops flank the central, more decorated, facades of the living areas that are embellished with tile tableaux and statues. This is considered the epitome of Cuypers' building decorations. Cuypers designed not only buildings, but also complete interiors. In the workshops near his house, his employees realized all these designs for sculptures, paintings, and furniture by hand.
The living area was arranged according to modern nineteenth-century insights. It was a large mansion, equipped with every comfort. In the garden was a sculpture gallery and a woodshed, where the wood needed to produce sculptures and furniture was stored and dried.
Craftsmanship
From his workshops, Cuypers delivered countless works of art, statues, ornaments, and altars around the world. Orders come in based on an extensive catalogue and fabrication takes place almost on an assembly line. All this about a century and a half ago, at a time when, as a great entrepreneur, he was providing jobs in his city. Craftsmanship is paramount. Early in his career, Cuypers designs a series of painted neo-Gothic furniture. They are inspired by the Middle Ages and show great craftsmanship. The details are beautiful and surprising. He is also the designer of the throne, on which the king delivers the speech from the throne every year during Prince's Day. This throne dates from 1904.
Pierre Cuypers is in the spotlight again |
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Vondelstraat
If there is one street in Amsterdam that can be associated with Cuypers' name, it is Vondelstraat. The eye-catcher of this street, developed largely by Cuypers himself, is the
Vondel Church. Since 1881, the architect lived at 77 Vondelstraat in the left half of a double villa designed by himself called Oud Leyerhoven. On the front facade, he had tile tableaux installed to the design of the painter George Sturm. The accompanying captions by Alberdingk Thijm put into perspective the criticism that prominent artists such as Cuypers inevitably had to endure during their careers: 'Jan bedenckt et / Piet volbrenght et / Claesgen laeckt et / Och, wat maeckt et'. ('Jan invents it / Pete accomplishes it / Claesgen denounces it / Ah, what does it matter '. With this, Cuypers clearly indicates that he cared little about how he was thought of.
Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
For those who are curious about more stories about the developments in Dutch residential architecture in the twentieth century, Iconic Houses has made a video in which five specialists discussing the following topics:
- Hygiene and Health in the Modern Home by Hetty Berens, Curator of the Sonneveld House.
- Palaces for the People by Valentijn Carbo, Architectural Historian at Hendrick de Keyser Monuments.
- A Woman’s Place: Clients & Architects, by Natalie Dubois, Curator of Design at the Centraal Museum Utrecht.
- Experiments with Space by Robert von der Nahmer, resident of the Diagoon House.
- Home as a Self-Portrait: Architect ‘s Houses by Natascha Drabbe, Architectural Historian and owner of the Van Schijndel House.
The 1 hour video can be streamed via the webshop.
About the author
Natascha Drabbe, architectural historian and resident of the renowned Van Schijndelhuis in Utrecht, is Executive Director and Founder of Iconic Houses, the international network of owners and managers of architecturally significant houses from the twentieth century. This group of museum professionals, lovers of modern heritage and private owners of modern houses strives to preserve modern residential heritage. The website iconichouses.org serves as a platform for more than one hundred and fifty Iconic Houses around the world, of which no fewer than 24 are in the Netherlands. The houses can all be visited (some only by appointment) and in some you can even stay overnight.
This article previously appeared in Dutch Magazine Herenhuis #87, January/February 2022. Translated with www.DeepL.com.
Posted October 20, 2022