[April 4, 2019] Last month designJAAP has made architectonic photos of the former Van Nelle Factory (Dutch: Van Nelle Fabriek) on the Schie in Rotterdam, is considered a prime example of the International Style based upon constructivist architecture. It has been a designated UNESCOWorld Heritage Site since 2014.

Van Nelle Factory

The buildings were designed by architect Leendert van der Vlugt from the Brinkman & Van der Vlugt office in cooperation with civil engineer J.G. Wiebenga, at that time a specialist for constructions in reinforced concrete, and built between 1925 and 1931. It is an example of Nieuwe Bouwen, modern architecture in the Netherlands. It was commissioned by the co-owner of the Van Nelle company, Kees van der Leeuw, on behalf of the owners. Van der Leeuw and both company-directors, Matthijs de Bruyn and Bertus Sonneveld, were so impressed by the skills of Van der Vlugt they commissioned him to design and build private houses for themselves in Rotterdam and nearby Schiedam between 1928 and 1932. The fully renovated Sonneveld House (Dutch: Huis Sonneveld) is now a museum in the center of Rotterdam, with more than 30,000 annual visitors from all over the world.

Here is an architectonic impression of the Van Nelle Factory