Jan Derwig

On a recent trip to Amsterdam -- my first -- I carried with me Amsterdam School, a slim book published by Architectura & Natura with examples of the short-lived expressionist style of brick architecture born in the Dutch city in the early decades of the 20th century. Following the Amsterdam School was Nieuwe Bouwen, the Netherlands' version of the International Style, or Functionalism. On my first day in Amsterdam I walked to Architectura & Natura's great little book store and came across Functionalism in the Netherlands, which I was not aware of but is by the same author and photographer as Amsterdam School and is in the same slim, landscape format. Like the earlier book, Functionalism has a short history and bios of important figures written by Mattie, followed by Derwig's contemporary photographs. Given that my tastes veer to classically modern over the expressionistic, I enjoyed reading this book and taking in the photos, often flipping back and forth between the two (Mattie's words reference Derwig's photos), thereby getting a handle on what made Dutch Functionalism so unique.… (mais)