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6th Iconic Houses Conference June 2020
Hans van Heeswijk - on the Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Wessel de Jonge on Dutch Icons at Risk
Melnikov House: Saving an Avant-Garde Icon
Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s
Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar
Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s offering
Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra
Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project
We welcome 13 new members!
BREAKING NEWS: 8 Wright Sites Inscribed on Unesco World Heritage List!
LECTURE 29 August - Raymond Neutra: My Father and Frank Lloyd Wright
SPECIAL – Hello Netherlands!
Iconic Reads
SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies
Our Badge of Honour
SPECIAL – Hello Germany!
SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses
SPECIAL – Iconic Holidays!
SPECIAL – Iconic Housing
Iconic Houses End Year Message
City-ordered rebuild of landmark house stirs debate: Appropriate or overreach?
Kohlberg House Restoration in Progress
Planned Demolition of Rietveld Homes in Reeuwijk
Renovation Gili House in Crisis
An Iconic Saga
Restoring Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 and Clarifying the Controversies
Modernism on the East Coast
Iconic Houses in Latin America
House Tours May 2018
Expert Meetings
Terence Riley -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Philip Johnson
New era for Villa E-1027 and Cap Moderne
Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)
Restoring the past: The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Home Studio
Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association
Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico
De Stijl in Drachten
Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio
Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru
Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil
Jan de Jong’s House is Latest Hendrick de Keyser Acquisition
Stay in a Belgian Modernist Masterpiece
In Berlin’s Modernist Network
Rietveld-Schröder House Celebrates De Stijl Anniversary
Meet Our New Foundation Board Members
Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D
Getty Grant for Villa E-1027
Iconic Dacha
11 Le Corbusier Homes now on Unesco World Heritage List
At home with Le Corbusier
Wright Plus 2016 Walk
Speaking Volumes: Building the Iconic Houses Library
Follow us!
Documentary La Ricarda
Rent a house designed by Gerrit Rietveld
Barragán House on Screen
Gesamtkunstwerk – An Icon on the Move
Triennale der Moderne 27 September - 13 October 2013
Prestigious Art Nouveau mansions in Brussels open
September 14 + 15: Heritage Days in Paris
June's New Arrivals: Museum Apartments
Iconic Houses is now on Twitter and Facebook
Corbu’s Cabanon: Reconstruction and Lecture
Projekt Mies In Krefeld: Life-sized model of the Krefeld Clubhouse
New arrivals: Spain special
MAMO: Le Corbu’s ‘Park in the Sky’ open 12 June
Annual Wright Architectural Housewalk: 18 May
Frank Lloyd Wright Homes on Screen
Message from the Editor
Neutra’s House on Screen
Melnikov House on Screen
Iconic Houses in the media
Message from the Editor
Eileen Gray House on Screen
Copy Culture
At Home in the 20th Century
New 20th century Iconic Houses website launches
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Hans van Heeswijk - on the Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House
Hans van Heeswijk is an Amsterdam-based architect whose highly regarded oeuvre includes museums such as the Hermitage Amsterdam. A Modern house enthusiast, he has visited hundreds of examples. At the conference, his keynote speech explores the influence of Dutch pioneers on the evolution of Modernism in Europe. Dutch architects like Berlage, Van Doesburg, Van Eesteren, Rietveld, Oud and Van der Vlugt played leading roles in the development of Modern architecture. We experience their legacy with tours to a number of houses in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
How does Dutch Modernism fit into the global picture?
Architects from the Netherlands played a leading role in developing Modern architecture, especially after 1918. Among other ambitions, Modern architecture here had a social agenda, aiming at functional housing with lots of daylight plus hygiene facilities. These are features to note on the conference house tours, and they were new and experimental at the time.
Are you concerned about preservation in the Netherlands?
Modern architecture is vulnerable globally. We need to be vigilant to avoid losing significant buildings. Luckily, the most important ones in the Netherlands, at least those from the first half of the 20th century, have been carefully restored. More recent examples have unfortunately sometimes been carelessly modified. Hopefully, in the near future legislation will prevent this.
What’s the picture like for newer, post-1965 heritage?
These buildings are now 50 years old and in need of major refurbishment or renovation. They have no legal protection, so they are dependant on the integrity and historic consciousness of their owners.
What issues are you looking forward to discussing at the conference?
The laissez faire attitude of governments towards architecture and its preservation worries me. It’s as if the custodianship of architecture isn’t a cultural issue. In my opinion, we should try to get architectural custodianship onto the political agenda.
What’s your favourite young heritage house?
I have many. For example, Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s own house in São Paulo; the early houses of Richard Meier or the Maison à Bordeaux by Rem Koolhaas. They all are superb in their detailing, with a surprising spaciousness. Sometimes when you visit a house, the overall impression of space or the meticulous detailing is breathtaking.
What are the most urgent issue facing iconic houses?
Too many are at risk these days. All houses get older and need careful maintenance. There is too little legal protection to force owners to preserve them, so they run the risk of being demolished and replaced.
What gives you hope for Modern homes?
Buyers who love Modern architecture and preserve the integrity of a house when they refurbish it.
You built your own, rather wonderful, house (above photo). How do you hope to preserve it in the future?
When I can't live there anymore I hope to find a new owner who understands its qualities and ambitions, and will keep it in good condition.
What changes have you noticed in recent years regarding Modern homes?
Little by little, they are being rediscovered and restored, so the number that can be visited and that can join the Iconic Houses Network is growing. It takes time for interesting houses to be rediscovered, appreciated and looked after.
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Jane Szita
Did you become curious about the entire lecture and tour program?
Check it out or register here >> www.aanmelder.nl/ihc2020
Posted 27 November 2019