Margaret Staal-Kropholler

Margaret Kropholler, around 1916–1920

Margaret Staal-Kropholler , often referred to as Margaret Kropholler, (born June 27, 1891 in Haarlem , † November 15, 1966 in Amsterdam ) was the first woman in the Netherlands to work as a professional architect .

Life

The daughter of Jacobus Kropholler, a household goods merchant, and Margaret Bisset, Margaret "Maggie" Kropholler was born on June 27, 1891 in Haarlem as one of five children of an artist family. She moved to Amsterdam to complete her schooling and from 1904 to 1907 took courses in drawing, ornamental design and technical drawing at the Dachteekenen Kunstambachtsschool voor Meisjes am Groenburgwal, which she completed.

After finishing school in Amsterdam in 1907, she became an intern at the architecture firm Kropholler en Staal , where her brother Alexander Kropholler had founded an office together with Jan Frederik Staal . She soon began a relationship with Jan Frederik Staal, who was married and twelve years older than her. This relationship was one of the reasons for the termination of the collaboration between her brother Alexander Jacobus and Staal in 1910, with which Margaret Kropholler stayed, but also caused a separation of several years between brother and sister. In 1910, Alexander Kropholler went into business for himself.

She then attended the arts and crafts school in Haarlem before attending evening classes at the Amsterdam Architecture Academy (1914–1916).

At first Margaret Kropholler lived alone on Keizersgracht 551 in Amsterdam and in 1918 moved with Jan Frederik Staal to Weteringschans 83, above the Staal architectural office. Their daughter Margaret was born in December 1919, but Margaret Kropholler returned to work soon after the birth. In 1936 she married Staal, but only took the name Staal-Kropholler after his death on April 8, 1940.

At first she was mainly concerned with the design of furniture, lamps and related objects, but also had some construction contracts.

Professional career

In 1913, when she was just 21 years old, Kropholler received her first commission, the interior decoration of Het Huis 1913 at the Amsterdam exhibition De Vrouw 1813–1913 . In 1915 she worked for the Amsterdam municipal utilities for six months. From 1916, in addition to continuing her work with JF Staal, she also began working as a freelance architect. In 1917 she was one of five architects who took part in the construction of 16 thatched-roof houses in Park Meerwijk in Bergen , made up mainly of bricks and terracotta elements . Even then, the four houses she designed clearly belonged to the Amsterdam School . The successful role she had played on this project was noted by HT Wijdeveld, who commented on the beautiful work:

“And it had to be that this extraordinary architectural experiment […] also included the work of our first Dutch architect, Margaret Kropholler. The three houses 'Beukenhoek', 'Meerlhuis' and 'Meezennest' were designed by Margaret Kropholler. And in complete mastery of the subject, with female shyness and thrift, she fulfilled her task. Not entirely unaffected by Staal's work is the characteristic of her personality. "

- H.Th. Wijdeveld 1918,

In the years that followed, Kropholler undertook further projects in the style of the Amsterdam School and received international recognition in 1925 when she was awarded a silver medal for her architectural work in the Dutch exhibition of the Paris Applied Arts Exhibition . In the late 1920s, her work took a more modern approach. During the 1930s she worked with her husband on a number of projects. Staal valued her commitment and considered her work to be artistically and technically excellent, especially the interiors she designed for the Beurs-World Trade Center in Rotterdam , which was completed in 1940.

In the post-war years, Kropholler submitted a number of proposals for the reconstruction of apartments, which were rejected due to new criteria that defined maximum volumes and usable space. In contrast, she received over 40 interior design contracts for shop renovations. As a result, her architectural work was mainly limited to expert opinions and lectures, so that she could remain active into the 1960s.

Home design considerations

As a housewife and architect, Margaret Kropholler was aware of the need to reduce the amount of housework for women. By designing comfortable, well-equipped apartments based on functional plans, she was able to make housework easier for women. Since 1918, when she gave a lecture to the Dutch Housewives Association on "The woman and her house", she often presented her ideas about the functional requirements of housewives in lectures and magazine articles.

Important work

• Residential complex in the Holendrechtstraat , Amsterdam: Together with other architects, Kropholler was commissioned to design apartment blocks in the south of Amsterdam in 1921, where they adopted the Amsterdam School style in several four-story buildings with symmetrical facades and cantilevered balconies.
• Louise Went House, Amsterdam: As a result of Louise van der Pek-Went's efforts to accommodate single people, Kropholler was commissioned in 1959 to build a block consisting of a central section with a staircase and two wings with 170 units with kitchen, toilet and Bathroom and 11 guest rooms. It was completed in 1963.

gallery

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  Studio apartment in 1919 Buissche Heide, Achtmaal.

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  Studio apartment 2014

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  Meerwijklaan 7, Bergen, built in 1918

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  Meerwijklaan 7, Bergen, 2003

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  Holendrechtstraat 1-47 , Amsterdam

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  Housing complex Holendrechtstraat 1-47 (approx. 1940)

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  Housing complex Holendrechtstraat 1-47 (2011)

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  West Amsterdam plan 1922–1927

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  Gravestone in the New East Cemetery in Amsterdam

literature

• E. Kessel, M. van Kuperus: Margaret Staal-Kropholler, Architect 1891–1966 . 010 Publishers, Rotterdam 1991, ISBN 978-90-6450-106-7 (Dutch).
• AH Loeff-Bokma: Margaret Kropholler . in “De vrouw en hair huis”, (1929), 8. Van Holkema & Warendorf, Amsterdam 1929 (Dutch).
• Herme Nio: Intra Muros . twaalf Nederlandse interieurarchitectes van deze eeuw. Knipscheer BV, Amsterdam 1992, ISBN 978-90-71035-51-7 (Dutch).
• Margaret Staal-Kropholler: Huisvesting van het onmaatschappelijk gezin . (Accommodation for socially disadvantaged families). Bouw, 1953 (Dutch).
• Margaret Staal-Kropholler: Onze woning-enquête . (Our study on the subject of housing). De Huisvrouw, 1947 (Dutch).
• HC Verkruijsen: Landhuizen . in “De vrouw en hair huis”, (1918), 6. Van Holkema & Warendorf, Amsterdam 1918 (Dutch).
• Wijdeveld, H.Th .: Het Park Meerwijk te Bergen . Volume 1, no.8 edition. Wendingen, 1918 (Dutch).

Web links

Commons : Margaret Staal-Kropholler  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Margaret Staal-Kropholler. In: arch INFORM .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Staal-Kropholler, Margaret. In: zoeken.nai.nl. Retrieved January 2, 2020 (Dutch). 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Kropholler, Margaret (1891-1966). In: resources.huygens.knaw.nl. October 19, 2017, accessed January 2, 2020 (Dutch).