Bakema, Jacob Berend

Bakema, Jacob Berend

 

Born Mar. 8, 1914, in Groningen. Dutch architect.

Bakema studied in Groningen, Amsterdam, and at the Technical University in Delft, where he became professor in 1964. He worked in the department of city planning in Amsterdam under the direction of K. van Eesteren. After 1948 he collaborated with J. H. van den Broek. Bakema is a representative of functionalism; since the late 1950’s he has been opposed to the dogmatization of his principles, regarding architecture as a spatial expression of human activity. His individual works are the civic center at Zuidplein (1947–48), the Cinema ’t Venster (1947–49) in Rotterdam, and the civic center in St. Louis (USA, 1955).