Jaap Bakema

Jacob Berend "Jaap" Bakema (8 March 1914 – 20 February 1981) was a Dutch modernist architect. He is notable for design of public housing and involvement in the reconstruction of Rotterdam after the Second World War, and especially his work with Jo van den Broek. The firm was renamed Van den Broek en Bakema in 1951. Bakema is also noted for his impact on the direction of modernist architecture.

Early life and education Jacob Berend "Jaap" Bakema was born on 8 March 1914 in Groningen, Netherlands.

He studied at the Groningen Higher Technical College The two architects collaborated to design landmarks and neighborhoods in Rotterdam and around the Netherlands.

Van den Broek and Bakema participated in the 1957 Interbau project in Berlin, a post-war building project in which 13 prominent international architects designed buildings for the Hansaviertel. Although their building, known as the Bakema Tower, was not constructed until two years after the exhibition of the project opened in July 1957, the plans and models were included in the catalogue. This was regarded as one of the firm's most significant projects.

Van den Broek en Bakema was commissioned to design buildings for Delft University of Technology, including the Faculty of Architecture (1959-64) and the Auditorium (1959-66). Other major projects for which they are known are Marl civic centre in Germany (1958-62); Terneuzen town hall in Zeeland, Netherlands (1963-72); the Kennemerland regional plan (1957-59); and the plan for a city on the artificial island Pampus (1965).

Bakema stayed on after Van den Broek left the practice in the early 1970s, working under the same name until his death in 1981.

After the war, first Van den Broek (1947) and then Bakema (1964) were appointed extraordinary professors at Delft University of Technology.

Bakema left his mark on both architectural education and the atmosphere of the Department of Architecture at Delft, where he continued to teach until his death.

In 2000, an exhibition called The Function of the Form – Van den Broek & Bakema Architecture and Urban Design was held at the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam. The exhibition, which included original drawings and models, photographs, film footage, and audio tapes, was the largest survey of their work to date.

Works Lijnbaan, Rotterdam (1949-54) Amstleven, Amsterdam (1961) Buikslotermeer, Amsterdam (1962) Marl Civic Center, Germany (1958-62) Terneuzen Town Hall, Netherlands (1968) Netherlands Pavilion, Expo '70, Osaka (1970) Psychiatric hospital, Middelharnis (1973-74)