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M.C. Kuipers
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Pieter Simon Dijkstra (1884-1968) is regarded as a noted Protestant church designer in South Africa, but his contribution to the built environment in the Netherlands is much less well known. His life and career in the country of his birth are of interest because they are closely aligned with the religious turbulence of the period, in which the anti-revolutionary clergyman-politician Abraham Kuyper played a prominent role. The building of new Reformed churches and schools was a direct expression of the zealous determination to spread the ‘true faith’. The architecture of the new Reformed churches was often modest and restrained, influenced by Kuyper’s view that the church space should serve the ‘gathering of the faithful’ and be arranged in such a way that congregants could see and hear one other and the minister. Dijkstra, born to a clergyman father with a missionary zeal, delivered various designs in this Reformed context.
Although Dijkstra grew up and trained in the northern Netherlands, Zeeland became his main area of operation. In 1908, after time spent working in Groningen (Spijk) and Germany, Dijkstra settled in Vlissingen (Flushing) where he set up his own architectural practice. At the time Vlissingen was an internationally oriented city undergoing a radical transformation under the direction of the liberal alderman of public works, J.G. van Niftrik jr. (1889-1924). Dijkstra designed two new hall-type Reformed churches: one in Geersdijk (1910) and the Eben Haëzer church in Vlissingen (1910). There followed a remarkable inter-denominational collaboration after the English Presbyterian community’s place of worship in the St Jacob’s Church was destroyed by fire in 1911. After Dijkstra’s initial design for a simple hall church was rejected, the authoritative Catholic architect Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921) was commissioned to provide a sketch design for a small yet monumental building. Cuypers’ design for a neogothic church based on an octagonal plan was further elaborated by Dijkstra. The church was inaugurated in 1914.
This unique project was followed by the Vlaswiek Reformed Church in Bovensmilde (Drenthe, 1915) and the Reformed Church in Kamperland (Noord-Beveland, 1923). The design for this robust church with corner tower and amphitheatre arrangement is in line with Kuyper’s views and foreshadows Dijkstra’s later church designs in South Africa.
Dijkstra designed school buildings for the various Reformed communities in and around Vlissingen (in Koudekerke and Arnemuiden) and social housing estates, including three for the Protestant-Christian housing association Gemeenschappelijk Belang (Common Interest), partly in collaboration with P.J. Hamers (1882-1966). Among his commissions for retail spaces is the striking expressionist radio shop he designed for H.J. van der Meer en Zonen (1923 and 1926), still extant. In 1927, all out of the blue, Dijkstra decided to emigrate with his family to South Africa, where he continued to develop as a Reformed church architect. This article not only provides an assessment of his Dutch oeuvre as a prefiguration of his South African work, but it also positions him as an interesting architect within the Dutch context of his day, characterized as it was by verzuiling (lit. ‘pillarization’, a form of compartmentalization along socio-political or religious lines).
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Pieter Simon Dijkstra (1884-1968) is regarded as a noted Protestant church designer in South Africa, but his contribution to the built environment in the Netherlands is much less well known. His life and career in the country of his birth are of interest because they are closely aligned with the religious turbulence of the period, in which the anti-revolutionary clergyman-politician Abraham Kuyper played a prominent role. The building of new Reformed churches and schools was a direct expression of the zealous determination to spread the ‘true faith’. The architecture of the new Reformed churches was often modest and restrained, influenced by Kuyper’s view that the church space should serve the ‘gathering of the faithful’ and be arranged in such a way that congregants could see and hear one other and the minister. Dijkstra, born to a clergyman father with a missionary zeal, delivered various designs in this Reformed context.
Although Dijkstra grew up and trained in the northern Netherlands, Zeeland became his main area of operation. In 1908, after time spent working in Groningen (Spijk) and Germany, Dijkstra settled in Vlissingen (Flushing) where he set up his own architectural practice. At the time Vlissingen was an internationally oriented city undergoing a radical transformation under the direction of the liberal alderman of public works, J.G. van Niftrik jr. (1889-1924). Dijkstra designed two new hall-type Reformed churches: one in Geersdijk (1910) and the Eben Haëzer church in Vlissingen (1910). There followed a remarkable inter-denominational collaboration after the English Presbyterian community’s place of worship in the St Jacob’s Church was destroyed by fire in 1911. After Dijkstra’s initial design for a simple hall church was rejected, the authoritative Catholic architect Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921) was commissioned to provide a sketch design for a small yet monumental building. Cuypers’ design for a neogothic church based on an octagonal plan was further elaborated by Dijkstra. The church was inaugurated in 1914.
This unique project was followed by the Vlaswiek Reformed Church in Bovensmilde (Drenthe, 1915) and the Reformed Church in Kamperland (Noord-Beveland, 1923). The design for this robust church with corner tower and amphitheatre arrangement is in line with Kuyper’s views and foreshadows Dijkstra’s later church designs in South Africa.
Dijkstra designed school buildings for the various Reformed communities in and around Vlissingen (in Koudekerke and Arnemuiden) and social housing estates, including three for the Protestant-Christian housing association Gemeenschappelijk Belang (Common Interest), partly in collaboration with P.J. Hamers (1882-1966). Among his commissions for retail spaces is the striking expressionist radio shop he designed for H.J. van der Meer en Zonen (1923 and 1926), still extant. In 1927, all out of the blue, Dijkstra decided to emigrate with his family to South Africa, where he continued to develop as a Reformed church architect. This article not only provides an assessment of his Dutch oeuvre as a prefiguration of his South African work, but it also positions him as an interesting architect within the Dutch context of his day, characterized as it was by verzuiling (lit. ‘pillarization’, a form of compartmentalization along socio-political or religious lines).
Acknowledging the Dignity of Architectural Heritage
Adding a Fourth Virtue to the Vitruvian Triad
Addressing the complex legacies of the past in architectural education and built constructions, calls for a reconsidering of the principles of architectural design and conservation. The current challenges of housing, sustainable development and heritage adaptation present huge dilemmas for architects. Yet today architects are only by exception trained to detect heritage values prior to drafting their interventions for adaptive reuse or upgrading. To this day, Western architectural thinking is influenced by the Vitruvian triad Firmitas, Utilitas and Venustas, and the truncated maxim ‘Form Follows Function’ as disseminated by the protagonists of the Modern Movement. These established a divide between the design for new-build and the care of already existing buildings. This divide is marked by the two Charters of Athens: the 1931 Carta del Restauro adopted at the First International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, and La Chartre d’Athènes presented by Le Corbusier as a result of the 4th CIAM Congress on the Functional City (1933). This paper attempts to bridge the identified divide by adding the idea of ‘Dignitas’ (dignity) as an equal virtue to the Vitruvian triad. Though not new for itself, this concept may aid to raise awareness of architectural dignity in extant buildings.
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Addressing the complex legacies of the past in architectural education and built constructions, calls for a reconsidering of the principles of architectural design and conservation. The current challenges of housing, sustainable development and heritage adaptation present huge dilemmas for architects. Yet today architects are only by exception trained to detect heritage values prior to drafting their interventions for adaptive reuse or upgrading. To this day, Western architectural thinking is influenced by the Vitruvian triad Firmitas, Utilitas and Venustas, and the truncated maxim ‘Form Follows Function’ as disseminated by the protagonists of the Modern Movement. These established a divide between the design for new-build and the care of already existing buildings. This divide is marked by the two Charters of Athens: the 1931 Carta del Restauro adopted at the First International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, and La Chartre d’Athènes presented by Le Corbusier as a result of the 4th CIAM Congress on the Functional City (1933). This paper attempts to bridge the identified divide by adding the idea of ‘Dignitas’ (dignity) as an equal virtue to the Vitruvian triad. Though not new for itself, this concept may aid to raise awareness of architectural dignity in extant buildings.
Two Pioneering Female Architects in South Africa
Gertruida Brinkman and Eleanor Ferguson
This paper continues on from a recently completed research project on shared built heritage of South Africa and the Netherlands from 1902–61, mainly created by Dutch–born architects. It focuses on two pioneering female architects in South Africa, Gertruida Brinkman (1906–77, née Siemerink) and Eleanor Ferguson (also Stakesby–Lewis; 1900–82), both of Dutch descent and married to South African architects. They were not only the first two women architects to lead a private practice in southern Africa, but also introduced ideas of the Modern Movement through their built projects, while continuously demonstrating a great concern for quality of life. Brinkman, graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, was based in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). She undertook two ‘grand tours’, through respectively Europe (1939) and Brazil (1954), which influenced her oeuvre. The other protagonist, the globetrotter Ferguson, trained at the Delft Institute of Technology (now TU Delft) and relocated subsequently to South Africa. With her third husband, she set up a joint practice in Johannesburg in 1938 and acted, under her maiden name, as its principal designer. The personal circumstances of both pioneers resulted in other priorities than seeking publicity in architectural journals. They focussed on designing and building, alongside a general social commitment additional to raising their children. Consequently, their legacies are hitherto scarcely known, except for some incidental references, which triggered our interest. By applying a combination of field, archival and bibliographical investigations with oral history research, we can now draft portraits of these two pioneering women architects. Their discovered portfolios reached far beyond the domestic sphere, including amongst others clubs, office buildings, schools, hospitals and industrial buildings and complexes. These discoveries show that biographical research is essential to augment the limited bibliographical information available on the contributions made by female architects to the built environment.
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This paper continues on from a recently completed research project on shared built heritage of South Africa and the Netherlands from 1902–61, mainly created by Dutch–born architects. It focuses on two pioneering female architects in South Africa, Gertruida Brinkman (1906–77, née Siemerink) and Eleanor Ferguson (also Stakesby–Lewis; 1900–82), both of Dutch descent and married to South African architects. They were not only the first two women architects to lead a private practice in southern Africa, but also introduced ideas of the Modern Movement through their built projects, while continuously demonstrating a great concern for quality of life. Brinkman, graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, was based in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). She undertook two ‘grand tours’, through respectively Europe (1939) and Brazil (1954), which influenced her oeuvre. The other protagonist, the globetrotter Ferguson, trained at the Delft Institute of Technology (now TU Delft) and relocated subsequently to South Africa. With her third husband, she set up a joint practice in Johannesburg in 1938 and acted, under her maiden name, as its principal designer. The personal circumstances of both pioneers resulted in other priorities than seeking publicity in architectural journals. They focussed on designing and building, alongside a general social commitment additional to raising their children. Consequently, their legacies are hitherto scarcely known, except for some incidental references, which triggered our interest. By applying a combination of field, archival and bibliographical investigations with oral history research, we can now draft portraits of these two pioneering women architects. Their discovered portfolios reached far beyond the domestic sphere, including amongst others clubs, office buildings, schools, hospitals and industrial buildings and complexes. These discoveries show that biographical research is essential to augment the limited bibliographical information available on the contributions made by female architects to the built environment.
Ir. Johanna Eleanor Ferguson
Internationale vrouw in de bouw en de theosofie
Een vraag vanuit Zuid-Afrika leidde tot de ontdekking van ir. J.E. Ferguson (1900-1982) en haar bijzondere loopbaan. Zij was een van de eerste professionele architectes in Nederland, maar haar werk is vrijwel onbekend. Samen met haar derde echtgenoot had zij een eigen bureau in achtereenvolgens Johannesburg en Salisbury (nu Harare). In 1961 verhuisden beiden naar Camberley (Surrey) om daar definitief in een theosofische gemeenschap te gaan wonen. Wie was deze Ferguson, wat heeft zij zoal gebouwd en waardoor werden haar denken en doen beïnvloed? Bij wijze van kennismaking biedt deze bijdrage een globale schets van leven en werk van een daadwerkelijk internationale vrouw in de bouw.
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Een vraag vanuit Zuid-Afrika leidde tot de ontdekking van ir. J.E. Ferguson (1900-1982) en haar bijzondere loopbaan. Zij was een van de eerste professionele architectes in Nederland, maar haar werk is vrijwel onbekend. Samen met haar derde echtgenoot had zij een eigen bureau in achtereenvolgens Johannesburg en Salisbury (nu Harare). In 1961 verhuisden beiden naar Camberley (Surrey) om daar definitief in een theosofische gemeenschap te gaan wonen. Wie was deze Ferguson, wat heeft zij zoal gebouwd en waardoor werden haar denken en doen beïnvloed? Bij wijze van kennismaking biedt deze bijdrage een globale schets van leven en werk van een daadwerkelijk internationale vrouw in de bouw.
Tracing tectonic wilhelmiens
Dutch-South African heritage and modernity
The newly created Union of South Africa attracted over seventy Dutch-born architects and civil engineers who migrated to practice their profession there, when the country was still part of the British Commonwealth (1910-1961). These Hollanders brought with them knowledge on both modern technologies and global values of modernity, but they also struggled with the special conditions of a deeply divided society. Their legacy is subject of a transcontinental research and dissemination project, 'Tectonic ZA Wilhelmiens'. This explores their hitherto unrecognised contribution to the globalisation of the Modern Movement, their built residue and its local relevance for today and the future in a vastly changed environment. This paper presents the legacy of two Dutch modernists in South Africa, Henk Niegeman and Jaap van Niftrik. Their oeuvres present not only a geographic translocation and assimilation of ideas, but have also survived into a new South African era.
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The newly created Union of South Africa attracted over seventy Dutch-born architects and civil engineers who migrated to practice their profession there, when the country was still part of the British Commonwealth (1910-1961). These Hollanders brought with them knowledge on both modern technologies and global values of modernity, but they also struggled with the special conditions of a deeply divided society. Their legacy is subject of a transcontinental research and dissemination project, 'Tectonic ZA Wilhelmiens'. This explores their hitherto unrecognised contribution to the globalisation of the Modern Movement, their built residue and its local relevance for today and the future in a vastly changed environment. This paper presents the legacy of two Dutch modernists in South Africa, Henk Niegeman and Jaap van Niftrik. Their oeuvres present not only a geographic translocation and assimilation of ideas, but have also survived into a new South African era.
The contribution outlines cross-continental careers of six Dutch-born architects who had worked both in the Netherlands and South Africa, and often also in other countries. The small yet representative selection includes JE Ferguson, JC Jongens, JC Meischke, HTO Niegeman, AJC Voorvelt and C Wegerif.
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The contribution outlines cross-continental careers of six Dutch-born architects who had worked both in the Netherlands and South Africa, and often also in other countries. The small yet representative selection includes JE Ferguson, JC Jongens, JC Meischke, HTO Niegeman, AJC Voorvelt and C Wegerif.
Cultural resilience and the Smart and Sustainable City
Exploring changing concepts on built heritage and urban redevelopment
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptualisation of the Smart Sustainable City (SSC) with new concepts of resilience thinking in relation to urgent societal challenges facing the built environment. The paper aims to identify novel methodologies for smart reuse of heritage sites with a pluralist past as integral to inclusive urban development.
Design/methodology/approach – SSC concepts in the global literature are studied to define a new reference framework for integrated urban planning strategies in which cultural resilience and co-creation matter. This framework, augmented by UNESCO’s holistic recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), was tested in two investigative projects: the historic centre of South Africa’s capital Tshwane and the proximate former Westfort leprosy colony.
Findings – The research confirms that SSC concepts need enlargement to become more inclusive in acknowledging “cultural diversity” of communities and engaging “chrono-diversity” of extant fabric. A paradigm shift in the discourse on integrated urban (re)development and adaptive reuse of built heritage is identified, influenced by resilience and sustainability thinking. Both projects show that different architectural intervention strategies are required to modulate built fabric and its emergent qualities and to unlock embedded cultural energy.
Originality/value – Together with a critical review of SSC concepts and the HUL in relation to urban (re) development, this paper provides innovative methodologies on creative adaptation of urban heritage, reconciling “hard” and “soft” issues, tested in the highly resilient systems of Tshwane. ...
Design/methodology/approach – SSC concepts in the global literature are studied to define a new reference framework for integrated urban planning strategies in which cultural resilience and co-creation matter. This framework, augmented by UNESCO’s holistic recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), was tested in two investigative projects: the historic centre of South Africa’s capital Tshwane and the proximate former Westfort leprosy colony.
Findings – The research confirms that SSC concepts need enlargement to become more inclusive in acknowledging “cultural diversity” of communities and engaging “chrono-diversity” of extant fabric. A paradigm shift in the discourse on integrated urban (re)development and adaptive reuse of built heritage is identified, influenced by resilience and sustainability thinking. Both projects show that different architectural intervention strategies are required to modulate built fabric and its emergent qualities and to unlock embedded cultural energy.
Originality/value – Together with a critical review of SSC concepts and the HUL in relation to urban (re) development, this paper provides innovative methodologies on creative adaptation of urban heritage, reconciling “hard” and “soft” issues, tested in the highly resilient systems of Tshwane. ...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptualisation of the Smart Sustainable City (SSC) with new concepts of resilience thinking in relation to urgent societal challenges facing the built environment. The paper aims to identify novel methodologies for smart reuse of heritage sites with a pluralist past as integral to inclusive urban development.
Design/methodology/approach – SSC concepts in the global literature are studied to define a new reference framework for integrated urban planning strategies in which cultural resilience and co-creation matter. This framework, augmented by UNESCO’s holistic recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), was tested in two investigative projects: the historic centre of South Africa’s capital Tshwane and the proximate former Westfort leprosy colony.
Findings – The research confirms that SSC concepts need enlargement to become more inclusive in acknowledging “cultural diversity” of communities and engaging “chrono-diversity” of extant fabric. A paradigm shift in the discourse on integrated urban (re)development and adaptive reuse of built heritage is identified, influenced by resilience and sustainability thinking. Both projects show that different architectural intervention strategies are required to modulate built fabric and its emergent qualities and to unlock embedded cultural energy.
Originality/value – Together with a critical review of SSC concepts and the HUL in relation to urban (re) development, this paper provides innovative methodologies on creative adaptation of urban heritage, reconciling “hard” and “soft” issues, tested in the highly resilient systems of Tshwane.
Design/methodology/approach – SSC concepts in the global literature are studied to define a new reference framework for integrated urban planning strategies in which cultural resilience and co-creation matter. This framework, augmented by UNESCO’s holistic recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), was tested in two investigative projects: the historic centre of South Africa’s capital Tshwane and the proximate former Westfort leprosy colony.
Findings – The research confirms that SSC concepts need enlargement to become more inclusive in acknowledging “cultural diversity” of communities and engaging “chrono-diversity” of extant fabric. A paradigm shift in the discourse on integrated urban (re)development and adaptive reuse of built heritage is identified, influenced by resilience and sustainability thinking. Both projects show that different architectural intervention strategies are required to modulate built fabric and its emergent qualities and to unlock embedded cultural energy.
Originality/value – Together with a critical review of SSC concepts and the HUL in relation to urban (re) development, this paper provides innovative methodologies on creative adaptation of urban heritage, reconciling “hard” and “soft” issues, tested in the highly resilient systems of Tshwane.
Continuity and change have become crucial themes for the built environment and heritage buildings; also in the education and practice of architects. Embedding built heritage values into studio-based design education is a daunting new challenge that demands new didactic perspectives and tools. To address the dilemmas that come with design assignments for adaptive reuse, an experiment with new didactic analytical tools has been conducted in the Heritage & Architecture (H&A) architectural design studios at the Delft University of Technology. The analysis attempts to connect matter—physical structures—and meaning in a structured graphical process through predefined mapping exercises. Our aim is to introduce a step-by-step method for exploration that can form the foundation of values-based design from built heritage. Central to our multifaceted approach is a specially developed matrix that is meant to support design-oriented analysis of heritage buildings. This paper situates the H&A perspective on the adaptive reuse of valorised buildings within the heritage discourse and architectural design education in general and further gives insight into the didactics, the tools, their uses and initial results. After a critical reflection on our points of departure, based in an evaluation of results, peer discussion and student evaluation, we conclude that the applied methodology is instructive to the educational goals but also merits further development. One of the lessons learnt for future teaching includes allowing students freedom to discover values themselves. An important conclusion is that an earlier and broader foundation that engages the continuation of tangible and intangible heritage values in the ever-changing built environment is required in architectural educational practice.
...
Continuity and change have become crucial themes for the built environment and heritage buildings; also in the education and practice of architects. Embedding built heritage values into studio-based design education is a daunting new challenge that demands new didactic perspectives and tools. To address the dilemmas that come with design assignments for adaptive reuse, an experiment with new didactic analytical tools has been conducted in the Heritage & Architecture (H&A) architectural design studios at the Delft University of Technology. The analysis attempts to connect matter—physical structures—and meaning in a structured graphical process through predefined mapping exercises. Our aim is to introduce a step-by-step method for exploration that can form the foundation of values-based design from built heritage. Central to our multifaceted approach is a specially developed matrix that is meant to support design-oriented analysis of heritage buildings. This paper situates the H&A perspective on the adaptive reuse of valorised buildings within the heritage discourse and architectural design education in general and further gives insight into the didactics, the tools, their uses and initial results. After a critical reflection on our points of departure, based in an evaluation of results, peer discussion and student evaluation, we conclude that the applied methodology is instructive to the educational goals but also merits further development. One of the lessons learnt for future teaching includes allowing students freedom to discover values themselves. An important conclusion is that an earlier and broader foundation that engages the continuation of tangible and intangible heritage values in the ever-changing built environment is required in architectural educational practice.
Designing from Heritage
Strategies for Conservation and Conversion
This book – the third in the Rondeltappe series – reflects the philosophy and didactic approach of Heritage and Architecture (H&A) section of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (Delft University of Technology). H&A has three chairs: Design, Cultural Value and Technology. They work in close cooperation to lay the foundations for the preservation and continuity of use of built heritage.Designing from Heritage is strongly connected to the first book in the Rondeltappe series which deals with durability and sustainability of monuments, and with the second which advocates freedom in heritage based design. It contains the contribution of Prof. Wessel de Jonge – the Chair of Heritage and Design and principle at Wessel de Jonge Architects – and Prof Marieke Kuipers – Chair of Culural Heritage in particular of the Architecture of the Twentieth Century and senior specialist of Twentieth Century Built Heritage at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).This book is meant as a tool for architectural education and conservation for which research is as integral part of the design strategy.
...
This book – the third in the Rondeltappe series – reflects the philosophy and didactic approach of Heritage and Architecture (H&A) section of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (Delft University of Technology). H&A has three chairs: Design, Cultural Value and Technology. They work in close cooperation to lay the foundations for the preservation and continuity of use of built heritage.Designing from Heritage is strongly connected to the first book in the Rondeltappe series which deals with durability and sustainability of monuments, and with the second which advocates freedom in heritage based design. It contains the contribution of Prof. Wessel de Jonge – the Chair of Heritage and Design and principle at Wessel de Jonge Architects – and Prof Marieke Kuipers – Chair of Culural Heritage in particular of the Architecture of the Twentieth Century and senior specialist of Twentieth Century Built Heritage at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).This book is meant as a tool for architectural education and conservation for which research is as integral part of the design strategy.
Introducing the Heritage Value Matrix
Connecting Matter and Meaning in Built Heritage
Educating heritage architects requires not only a thorough knowledge of extant built fabric and the methodologies for repair (tangible), but also understanding of intangible values and their relationship to the tangible, in short relating matter to meaning. To this aim a Heritage Value Matrix has been developed as a graphic mapping, analysis and evaluation tool. This has been tested through application in education practice and is presented in this paper.
...
Educating heritage architects requires not only a thorough knowledge of extant built fabric and the methodologies for repair (tangible), but also understanding of intangible values and their relationship to the tangible, in short relating matter to meaning. To this aim a Heritage Value Matrix has been developed as a graphic mapping, analysis and evaluation tool. This has been tested through application in education practice and is presented in this paper.
Seen from the perspective of art protection and architectural preservation, the Netherlands held an exceptional position among the 'civilized nations' during the first half of the 20th century. On the one hand, the country had hosted three international Peace Conferences and ratified the resulting Hague Conventions of 1899, 1907 and 1954, which stipulated that all seizure, destruction or intentional damage to historical monuments and works of art or science is prohibited in case of war and hostile occupation of foreign territories. On the other hand, the first national legislation to protect historical buildings and monuments against disfigurement and demolition in times of peace was implemented as late as 1961.
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Seen from the perspective of art protection and architectural preservation, the Netherlands held an exceptional position among the 'civilized nations' during the first half of the 20th century. On the one hand, the country had hosted three international Peace Conferences and ratified the resulting Hague Conventions of 1899, 1907 and 1954, which stipulated that all seizure, destruction or intentional damage to historical monuments and works of art or science is prohibited in case of war and hostile occupation of foreign territories. On the other hand, the first national legislation to protect historical buildings and monuments against disfigurement and demolition in times of peace was implemented as late as 1961.