Frits Peutz
Encyclopedia
F.P.J. Peutz was a Dutch
architect
.
Peutz was born in a Catholic family in Uithuizen
in Groningen
, a mostly Protestant province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1910 he was sent to the Rolduc
boarding school in Kerkrade
in the Catholic province of Limburg for his higher education. In 1914 he graduated at the HBS, an old type of Dutch high school. After that he studied civil engineering
in Delft
. In 1916 he changed to architecture
. In 1920, while still not graduated, he returned to Limburg to settles as an independent architect in the town of Heerlen
, where the booming coal mining
industry provided him with many assignments. Peutz played a major role in transforming Heerlen in a true, modern city. In 1925 he received his degree in architecture. Around 1926 his first son, Victor Peutz was born, who became audiologist and acoustician. Peutz and his wife Isabelle Tissen had thirteen children together. One of whom followed in his father's footsteps to get a degree in civil engineering and become an architect.
Peutz incorporated various historical styles in his work. He had a special affinity with the modern movement (such as Bauhaus
in Germany), with his own distinct interpretation. There is a big contrast in style between his secular work and his much more traditional churches.
During his lifetime he had quite an international reputation. But because his work was done in and around Heerlen, a city that lost its status as an industrial centre in decades to come, he has been somewhat forgotten. But in recent years he is being rediscovered, exemplified by the proclamation of his Glaspaleis
as one of the world's 1000 most important buildings of the 20th century, and also due to Wiel Arets
' - a contemporary Dutch architect also from Heerlen - many publications on Peutz produced in the past ten years. Peutz was also responsible for the adjacent Pancratiuskerk
(for Monumentenzorg
- 'Monument Care') and the juxtaposition between this old Romanesque church and the ultramodern department store is typical for his mixing of the old and the new.
The retreat house and the Glaspaleis are good examples of a new phase in his building style that he developed after entering a competition to design the Palais des Nations
in Geneva
(1926), this new style accumulated in the Town hall of Heerlen.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
architect
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
.
Peutz was born in a Catholic family in Uithuizen
Uithuizen
Uithuizen is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Eemsmond. Uithuizen has a railway station.Uithuizen was a separate municipality until 1979, when it became part of Hefshuizen....
in Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
, a mostly Protestant province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1910 he was sent to the Rolduc
Rolduc
Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center.-History:...
boarding school in Kerkrade
Kerkrade
Kerkrade is a town and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.It is the western half of the divided region and de facto city, taken together with the eastern half, the German town of Herzogenrath...
in the Catholic province of Limburg for his higher education. In 1914 he graduated at the HBS, an old type of Dutch high school. After that he studied civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
in Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
. In 1916 he changed to architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. In 1920, while still not graduated, he returned to Limburg to settles as an independent architect in the town of Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
, where the booming coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
industry provided him with many assignments. Peutz played a major role in transforming Heerlen in a true, modern city. In 1925 he received his degree in architecture. Around 1926 his first son, Victor Peutz was born, who became audiologist and acoustician. Peutz and his wife Isabelle Tissen had thirteen children together. One of whom followed in his father's footsteps to get a degree in civil engineering and become an architect.
Peutz incorporated various historical styles in his work. He had a special affinity with the modern movement (such as Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in Germany), with his own distinct interpretation. There is a big contrast in style between his secular work and his much more traditional churches.
During his lifetime he had quite an international reputation. But because his work was done in and around Heerlen, a city that lost its status as an industrial centre in decades to come, he has been somewhat forgotten. But in recent years he is being rediscovered, exemplified by the proclamation of his Glaspaleis
Glaspaleis
The Glaspaleis is a modernist building in Heerlen, Netherlands, built in 1935. Formerly a fashion house and department store, Schunck, it is now the cultural centre of the city...
as one of the world's 1000 most important buildings of the 20th century, and also due to Wiel Arets
Wiel Arets
Wiel Arets is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist, industrial designer and 'Professor of Building Planning and Design' at the Berlin University of the Arts , Germany. Arets studied at the Technical University of Eindhoven, graduating in 1983...
' - a contemporary Dutch architect also from Heerlen - many publications on Peutz produced in the past ten years. Peutz was also responsible for the adjacent Pancratiuskerk
Pancratiuskerk
The Pancratiuskerk is a Roman Catholic church in Heerlen in the Netherlands.-History:Although no written sources about the origin of the church are known, a comparative study concludes that building started in the first half of the 12th century...
(for Monumentenzorg
Monumentenzorg
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed , often abbreviated as Cultureel Erfgoed, is a Dutch heritage organisation working for the protection and conservation of National Heritage Sites. It is located in Amersfoort.- Responsibilities :...
- 'Monument Care') and the juxtaposition between this old Romanesque church and the ultramodern department store is typical for his mixing of the old and the new.
The retreat house and the Glaspaleis are good examples of a new phase in his building style that he developed after entering a competition to design the Palais des Nations
Palais des Nations
The Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary General of the UN signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
(1926), this new style accumulated in the Town hall of Heerlen.
Important works
- Villa for the notary Wijnands, Heerlen, 1919
- Broederschool (primary school), Heerlen, 1921
- Villa Casa Blanca, Houthem, 1929
- ULO-school (school building), Heerlen, 1931
- Huis Op de Linde (House 'Op de Linde'), Heerlen, 1931
- Monseigneur Laurentius Schrijnen RetraitehuisMonseigneur Schrijnen Retreat HouseThe Monseigneur Schrijnen Retreat House was designed by the famed architect Frits Peutz in 1932, and named after the 18th bishop of Roermond Laurentius Josephus Antonius Hubertus Schrijnen...
(Retreat House), Heerlen, 1932 - GlaspaleisGlaspaleisThe Glaspaleis is a modernist building in Heerlen, Netherlands, built in 1935. Formerly a fashion house and department store, Schunck, it is now the cultural centre of the city...
(Schunck Fashionhouse), Heerlen, 1933 - Royal TheaterRoyal Theater HeerlenSituated close to the Heerlen train station, this egg shaped building dates back to 1938 and is one of the oldest still used cinemas of the Netherlands. It was designed by Frits Peutz and J. Bongaerts...
(Royal cinema), Heerlen, 1937 - Raadhuis Heerlen (Town Hall), Heerlen, 1936–1942
- Kneepkens store, Heerlen, 1939
- Annakerk (church of St. Anne), Heerlen, 1951
- Vroom & Dreesmann store, Heerlen, 1958
- Stadsschouwburg (Municipal Theatre), Heerlen, 1959
External links
- Short biography and pictures of Peutz' buildings
- Monseigneur Schrijnen Retreat House (in Dutch)
- Schunck Fashions' Building (the 'Glass Palace') (in Dutch)