Felix Claus and Kees Kaan

- Tracing an idiom -

SEMESTER B, QUARTER 4, 2009-2010 // 6/21/2010 // TU/E EINDHOVEN //

7X840 - THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2: THE ART OF WRITING ON ARCHITECTURE //
DAVE TEN HOOPE - 0611396 // PROFESSOR: PROF. DR. BERNARD COLENBRANDER //
Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | 2|
Contents
Contents 3
I - Foreword 5
II - Preface 7
III - Placing Felix Claus and Kees Kaan 9
III.I - Rigour 9
III.II - Ra o : nalism 10
IV - Conclusive 11
IV.I - Revival of a language 11
Bibliography 13
Books 13
Websites 13
Images 13

|3 Contents | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture

Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | 4|
I - Foreword
This essay revolves around the ques on whether or not there is a con nuity within the tradi on that is
known as ‘ra onalism’, seen from the iconic ra onalist Giuseppe Terragni ll the recent works of Claus en Kaan,
by means of the defini ons used by Antonio MonesƟroli; style and language. Even though this essay is not
an architectural analysis, the ques on at hand will be dealt with by making a comparison between concrete
buildings; a case study.
I would like to thank prof. dr. Bernard Colenbrander for the opportunity of exploring and inves ga ng the
(neo)ra onalist traces in Dutch architecture, more specifically in the oeuvre of Claus en Kaan Architecten.

|5 Foreword | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture

Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | 6|
II - Preface
The architecture of Claus en Kaan can be characterized as a new form of eclec cism; they tend to dive
into the works of other architects by making use of a vast collec on of books as an inspira on for the design
process.1 It is therefore not surprising that the oeuvre of this office is diverse and rich in references to various
‘styles’ and ‘languages’. By browsing through one of the books published about Claus en Kaan, I came across
various buildings that gave me a strong recollec on of the Italian ra onalists - Terragni in par cular. This finding
gave rise to the ques on whether there is a con nuity within this line of thought; ra onalism.
I will start off this inves ga on by commen ng on a set of buildings produced by Claus en Kaan and by
studying the wri ngs and architecture of Terragni, i.e. the Casa del Fascio. A er this explora on we will come
across Antonio Mones roli to a empt to come up with a conclusive answer.

1
“Voor hen bestaat er geen wezenlijke tegenspraak tussen moderne en klassieke waarden.” Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan, Gebouwen, p. 10

|7 Preface | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture

Fig. 1: Residential care
center Stadshagen
(original design),
Zwolle - Claus en Kaan

Fig. 2: Architect’s office,

Amsterdam - Claus en
Kaan

Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | 8|

III - Placing Felix Claus and Kees Kaan
III.I - Rigour

[ ]: “the result of the applicaƟon of general rules, established by the operaƟon of reason.”2

: “the pracƟce of guiding one’s acƟons and opinions solely by what seems reasonable.”3

If one takes a look at the buildings that are designed by the hand of Claus en Kaan, it is no ced that as
the scale of the building increases, there seems to be a strong urge for rigour and repe on. Rafael Moneo
states that there are facades within the architecture of Claus en Kaan where the frequency and posi oning of
the fenestra ons bring back memories of the Italian Tendenza architects4 - who in their turn refer to the Italian
ra onalists. Projects such as the Marvelo housing in Zaandam, the residen al care center Stadshagen in Zwolle,
the fire sta on in Utrecht and even their own office in Amsterdam clearly show traces of a ra onalis c line of
thought; the imposed rigour of the fenestra on, the framing of the underlying space, the dimensions of both
horizontal and ver cal construc ve elements and the overal dimensions and ra o of the building parts in gene-
ral. Together they form a braid, and they all contribute to a long las ng image that goes way back to the heydays
of ra onalism. At the same me they reach us yet another handle; in the act of crea ng buildings that are ‘acte
de présence’ they refer to well known shapes - basic geometrical figures such as the cube and the rectangular
box.5
When we take a closer look at the residen al care center in Zwolle - more specifically the original design -
we can try to find traces of this supposed ra onalis c idiom. In this example we can unravel the braid that has
been pointed out earlier; there exists a strong rhythm and repe on in the facade, in par cular the fenestra on.
Also the ra o of the windows points out to ‘accepted rules’ as the golden sec on and the 1:2 ra o, while at the
same me the horizontal and ver cal lines that separate the windows - the walls and the floors - are treated as
though they are the same and serve the same purpose; the construc on of the building. The choice for concrete
as the main material in the facade gives the building a monolithic character even though the facade consists out
of standardized - ra onal - precast elements. Also the deployment of the large glass covered surfaces and the
applica on of the flat roof coverings should be men oned.
If we - if just for a moment - disregard the urban context, the surroundings and atmosphere, which are
very dis nct in both cases, we can state that the two buildings in ques on - the residen al care center in Zwolle
and the Casa del Fascio - present themselves in a similar manner: a majes c facade with strong and deep
penetra ons, showing off the underlying space, in a rigourous fashion. It is at this moment that it would be
interes ng to take a look at another building of Claus en Kaan - their own office in Amsterdam. Here too the
facade presents itself in a somewhat minimalis c, yet very outspoken way, where there is no room for error. As
opposed to the described building earlier on, here the construc ve elements do not become as clear as they
ought to; the dimensions of the floors and the walls are not representa ve of the construc on itself. It is at
this point where the building gives away. The ra onalis c appearance which it oozes at first glimpse becomes a
disturbed image because of the contradictory exposure of the construc on and because of the windows which
do not frame the underlying space and give us clear framed images of what happens behind the facade, instead
the space con nues in floor plan and sec on and thus the facade deceives the human eye - as would Terragni
have us believed.6 The facade - so it seems - has been disconnected from the inside of the building7 except for
the roof terrace, which has been framed - according to Terragni.

2
Alan Colquhoun in his 1987 essay: ‘Ra onalism: A Philosophical Concept in Architecture’, Wiley, John, & Sons Ltd., “On the Threshold of Ra onalism”, p. 8
3
Webster, Merriam, Webster’s new explorer dicƟonary and thesaurus, p. 411
4
“(...) in de architectuur van Claus en Kaan (...) gevels tegenkomen (...) waarin de regelmaat en de plaatsing van de openingen ons de invloed in
herinnering brengt van de Italiaanse Tendenza-architecten op de Europese architectuur van de jaren zeven g.” Moneo, Rafael, Claus en Kaan,
Gebouwen, p. 2
5
“(...) dat wanneer vormen acte de présence geven in hun architectuur, ze al jd verwijzen naar bekende vormen.” Ibid, p. 3
6
Giuseppe Terragni in Quadrante 35/36: “(...) they [fundamental or rec fica on lines] must be able to be appreciated with immediacy by the observer,
they must lastly be applied in the propor oning of essen al parts of the building which the eye dis nguishes inadvertently: the outline of the facade,
the void of a window or por co, solid walls that balance these voids and so on.” The Terragni Atlas, p. 46
7
“In deze en andere projecten gaat het (...) om de ontkoppeling van architectonische vorm en programma sche inhoud.” Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan,
Gebouwen, p. 9

|9 Placing Felix Claus and Kees Kaan | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture
 III.II - RaƟo : nalism
In numerous wri ngs, Terragni has depicted himself as a ‘true’ ra onalist, where he elaborated on the vari-
ous cons tu ve elements of this ‘language’. He points out to aspects that would be corner stones of ra onalism:
the use and applica on of “reinforced concrete, [as a modern material] (...) enormous overhangs, large apertu-
res and the consequenƟal significance of glass as a surface value; horizontal straƟficaƟons, (...) the general ske-
leton of the construcƟon and the rhythmic subdivision of solids and voids.”8 In another edi on of Quadrante he
highlights the importance of (fundamental or determinant) lines in the building envelope: “(...) it is appropriate
to increase or create the spiritual value within an architectural composiƟon. They aim at establishing a perfec-
Ɵon of raƟos through a ‘calibraƟon’ of the various ‘pieces’ that compose a facade. (...) the load-bearing skeleton
uniformly subdivides the enƟre facade and these two raƟos [1:2] give rise to a rhythm automaƟcally fixed by
the construcƟonal requirement generously highlighted on the facade itself.”9 He also notes the importance of
rules or perhaps even the leading thread in an architectural design: “Moreover, the dimension derives from the
‘human scale’: it therefore disƟnguishes, establishing the correct raƟo, the fundamental moƟfs (the great rec-
tangles traced by the pillars of the load-bearing skeleton) that might otherwise ‘stray beyond’ the relaƟonship
and present themselves as an enlarged and therefore ‘out of scale’ moƟf.”10 Conclusively - when speaking about
the Casa del Fascio - he elaborates on the posi oning of the spaces inside the building: “The distribuƟon of the
rooms is the consequence of (...) the frequence of their relaƟons with the public.”11
When we compare these arguments from Terragni with the findings of the case studies from Claus en Kaan
we find many parallels: the accentua on of the construc on - at least in the facade -, the choice of materials, the
explicit use of ‘fundamental’ lines, the human scale and the distribu on of the rooms. However we do not find
traces - at least not at first sight - of the gravity of ra o, of a numerical or geometrical rule so to say within the ar-
chitectural composi on(s). Moreover the well known applica on of the glass brick by Giuseppe Terragni is also
absent within the described buildings of Claus en Kaan. Perhaps this can be explained from a cultural-historic
perspec ve: the wide use of the glass brick in the early twen eth century did occur because of the shi ing in the
cultural values and the construc ve opportuni es that it offered. While the same can be said about glass plates
nowadays. In a way, Claus en Kaan respond in a similar manner to cultural changes as did Terragni in his me.12
The most important differences between the architecture of Claus en Kaan and Terragni we find in the in-
terior of the building, or in the approach of the architects towards the ‘ra o’ between inside and outside. Unlike
Terragni - who accentuates the outside of the building on the inside and vice-versa, Claus en Kaan deliberately
separate them13. This poses somewhat of a problem to the ques on at hand; is there a con nuity within the
ra onalis c line of thought? Perhaps it would suffice not to search for a con nua on of this line of thought,
but to state that there are fundamental traces of the ra onalist tradi on, reinterpreted and refined towards an
architecture that clearly shows aspects of this idiom, however it does not surrender to it.

8
Giuseppe Terragni in Quadrante 23. The Terragni Atlas, p. 22 (brackets added)
9
Giuseppe Terragni in Quadrante 35/36. Ibid, p. 46 (brackets added)
10
Ibid, Ibid, p. 154
11
Ibid, Ibid
12
“(...) lijken ze rekenschap te geven van wat onze cultuur heden ten dage is, steeds a ankelijker van technologie en industrie.” Moneo, Rafael, Claus en
Kaan, Gebouwen, p. 3
13
“Het exterieur is doorgaans neutraal, ra oneel, hard, afstandelijk of abstract. Het interieur is meestal tastbaar, kleurrijk, ruimtelijk en zinnelijk. (...) Zelfs
in de meest spartaanse vorm is de architectuur van Claus en Kaan daardoor nooit medogeloos.” Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan,Gebouwen, p. 9

Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | Placing Felix Claus and Kees Kaan 10 |
IV - Conclusive
IV.I - Revival of a language
In defining these traces I would like to turn to Antonio Mones roli and his applica on of the terms ‘langu-
age’ and ‘style’; “The style (...) should not be confused with language; it should not be personal. Style, (...) has to
become a collecƟve legacy in order to exist. Therefore the architect must aspire to define a style, but (...) It is the
community (...) that recognizes whether he has achieved a style in his work.”14
Based on our findings as well as the primary and secondary literature we can - however with cau on -
state that the architecture of Felix Claus and Kees Kaan is a degenera on of a formerly ‘shared language’ - of
a style. It has become a language that has somewhat lost its former meaning, is being picked up and renamed
as a ‘personal style’, a new language in its own right. It clearly shows traces and influences and adjusts them
in their new context - like loan words. The architecture of Claus en Kaan can therefore righteously be called a
‘reinterpreta on of a dead language’.
Even though this conclusion might seem plausible, based on the presented informa on, it has to be
acknowledged however that a conclusion of this sort s ll needs further inves ga on and elabora on in order
to make things concrete. This essay can therefore be seen as a first explora on on the basis of finding the
ra onalis c traces in the work of Claus en Kaan, primarily based on intui on and references. It does not rule out
however, that the architecture of Claus en Kaan clearly affirms the sugges ons named above.

Fig. 3: Casa del Fascio,

Como - Giuseppe
Terragni

14
Mones roli, Antonio, The Metope and the Triglyph, Nine lectures in architecture, p. 103.

| 11 Conclusive | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture

Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture | 12 |
Bibliography
Books

- Cur s, William, J.R., Modern architecture since 1900, New York, Phaidon Press Inc., 2007, (2006), (2005),
(2003), (2002), (2001), (1999), (1997), (1996), (1987), (1982).

- Ferrater, Carlos, Claus en Kaan, Barcelona, Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.A., 1997.

- Guisado, Jesús, Aparicio, Giuseppe Terragni, El Danteum, 1938-1940, Madrid, Editorial Rueda S.L., 2004.

- Heynen, Hilde, (et.al.), ‘Dat is architectuur’, sleutelteksten uit de twinƟgste eeuw, Ro erdam,
Uitgeverij 010, 2009, (2004), (2001).

- Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan Architecten, Ideal Standard, Buildings 1988-2009, Del , Prototype Edi ons,
2009.

- Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan, Gebouwen, Ro erdam, NAi Uitgevers, 2001.

- Mones roli, Antonio, The Metope and the Triglyph, Nine lectures in architecture, Amsterdam,
SUN Publishers, 2005.

- Terragni, A lio, Libeskind, Daniel, Rosselli, Paolo, The Terragni Atlas, Built Architecture, Milan, Skira, 2004.

- Webster, Merriam, Webster’s new explorer dicƟonary and thesaurus, Springfield, Federal Street Press,
2005.

- Wiley, John, & Sons Ltd., “On the Threshold of Ra onalism” Architectural Design, vol. 77, no. 5,
(September / October 2007).

- Wiley, John, & Sons Ltd., “The Dichotomies of Ra onalism in 20th-Century Italian Architecture”
Architectural Design, vol. 77, no. 5, (September / October 2007).

- Wiley, John, & Sons Ltd., “The Employment of Reason” Architectural Design, vol. 77, no. 5,
(September / October 2007).

- Wiley, John, & Sons Ltd., “Dutch Selected Projects” Architectural Design, vol. 77, no. 5,
(September / October 2007).

Websites

- “Ra onalist Architecture”, <h p://www.itaucultural.org.br/aplicexternas/enciclopedia_ic/index.cfm?

fuseac on=marcos_texto_ing&cd_verbete=4260> reviewed 6.17.2010

Images

- Fig. 1: Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan, Gebouwen, Ro erdam, NAi Uitgevers, 2001 p. 124.
- Fig. 2: Ibelings, Hans, Claus en Kaan Architecten, Ideal Standard, Buildings 1988-2009, Del ,
Prototype Edi ons, 2009 p. 299.
- Fig. 3: Terragni, A lio, Libeskind, Daniel, Rosselli, Paolo, The Terragni Atlas, Built Architecture, Milan,
Skira, 2004 p. 172.
| 13 Bibliography | Theory of architecture 2: the art of writing on architecture
SEMESTER B, QUARTER 4, 2009-2010 // 6/21/2010 // TU/E EINDHOVEN //
7X840 - THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2: THE ART OF WRITING ON ARCHITECTURE //
DAVE TEN HOOPE - 0611396 // PROFESSOR: PROF. DR. BERNARD COLENBRANDER //