Modernists Abroad

Hook of Holland, Netherlands

In 1924 J.J.P. Oud, City Architect to Rotterdam, designed this workers’ housing block, built in 1926–27 in the city’s Hook of Holland district. The elongated two-story structure of two- and four-room units earned international attention. Oud created an integrated architectural whole, with shopfronts at the rounded ends of the residential buildings, creating a dramatic streamlined appearance.

Phillip Johnson, who selected the project for MoMA’s 1932 Modern Architecture show, visited the site in 1929 and wrote: “We still think that Oud’s Hook houses are the Parthenon of modern Europe. That’s putting it a little strongly, but they are splendid.”

Watch the video

Transcription

0:00:00 – 0:00:03

The video starts with a black and white picture of Alfred Barr, his wife Marga and Philip Johnson. Modernists abroad 1927 – 1933 is written on the right side of the picture.

0:00:03 – 0:00:14

An old map shows the movement from Paris to Rotterdam with the sound of a plane in the background.

0:00:14 – 0:00:26

An old map of Rotterdam appears to the left of the image while a plane is flying over the city at the right side of the image. Rotterdam is written in white in the middle of the image. We can still hear the sound of a plane in the background.

0:00:26 – 0:00:30

We can still see the map of Rotterdam on the left of the image. On the right side of the image, black and white videos show, boats on a canal, people at the market, people walking on a bridge in the city of Rotterdam.

0:00:30 – 0:00:41

On the left of the image, a map shows the movement from Rotterdam to Hoek Van Holland. At the same time, to the right of the image, black and white videos show boats circulating. It is now written Hoek Van Holland in the center of the image.

0:00:41 – 0:00:51

We always see the map on the left of the image. On the right side of the picture we see around three men working on a big wooden boat that is under construction.

0:00:51 – 0:00:58

On the left of the image, an architecture plan of Workers’ Housing appears. On the right side of the image there is a black and white photo showing the Worker’s housing seen from above. The housing seems really big. Piano is playing in the background.

0:00:58 – 0:01:22

A black and white photo of the architect Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud appears on the left of the image. Black and white photos of Workers’ Housing appear on the right side of the image. Piano is playing in the background.