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Radicality, optimism, and trans- in what was a “marriage of conve- This book delves into the design proach to his approach to archi-
formation are what the work of Jan nience”, the author also tells of the process of the Chinese architect tecture is through the 68 drawings
Brinkman (1902-1949) and Leen Van situation that Brinkman had to deal Wang Shu, 2012 Pritzker laureate, reproduced in the book in their real
der Vlugt (1894-1936) suggest. This is with in 1925, when forced by the Van by analyzing the evolution of six of size, which range from explorations
what histories of modern architecture Nelle consignors to tie up with Van his most significant works. These have of conceptual strategies in the early
tell us, and what we perceive when we der Vlugt , and in 1936, when Van der heretofore received little attention in stages of a project to highly defined
visit the Van Nelle factory in Rotter- Vlugt’s sudden death led him to part- Europe, so the publication rectifes a construction details. The drawings
dam. But it is the long silenced idea ner with Van der Broek. major omission in the editorial world. are preceded by a very personal text
of continuity – in the construction of Fruit of a study reinforced by the Convinced of the power of draw- written by Shu himself, where he ex-
this port city and in the legacy of proj- commissioning of Molenaar himself ings rendered with a pencil, ruler and plains the whys of each line drawn and
ects by successive teams – that is this to build the Sonneveld House, Nai101 compass, Wang Shu continues to work the thoughts that led him to draw it. As
study’s main contribution. publishes this selection of works that as he did when he was a student. Like the design progresses, drawings come
The books centers on Brinkman & combines original plans and period a ritual, always after writing a page of and go, move close and away, center
Van der Vlugt’s contribution to the images from archives with recent pho- calligraphy and drinking a cup of tea, on the whole or on details, defining
ideal modern city through works of all tos, and includes the photomontage of the architect sits down to draw, trans- structure and form, scale and propor-
scales, from the telephone box (1932) the factory that Moholy-Nagy used to lating his thoughts into lines on paper. tion. Designs are repeated, with small
that became part of Dutch urban finish his Von Material zu Architektur His work is the result of a continuous, differences making a difference. The
landscape to the Bergpolder housing (1929), choosing the building to illus- uninterrupted thought process where title of the Japanese-bound publica-
(1934) or the Feijenoord football sta- trate the qualities of architecture of the drawing by hand plays an essential tion expresses another of Wang Shu’s
dium (1936). Without concealing Van future: openness, spatial interpenetra- role in the search for form. convictions: that all architecture is a
der Vlugt’s creative preponderance tion and primacy of collective values. Maybe this is why the best ap- house, whatever be its function.