Hendrik Berlage

H.P. Berlage is one of Holland’s first modern architects. He was a student of Gotfried Semper, who not only taught him a renaissance style but, more importantly, also that the use of ornaments should not be a goal in itself. Later, the works of Viollet-le-Duc made him see that a historic style should not be copied when designing a modern building. As a result he started to look for a new style, a new way of creating unity in a building. He developed a rational style, using geometrical plans and geometrical shapes.