J. J. P. Oud

Happy Birthday J. J. P. Oud!! The Dutch architect was born in 1890. He received his education at the Arts and Crafts School in Amsterdam and then went on to the Technical University at Delft. Oud was an original member of De Stijl, but left the group due to philosophical differences. A socialist, Oud encouraged the movement toward functionalism. His work has the clean line of Dutch Funtionalist architecture. The picture I am including today is his housing complex Weissenhof Siedlung in Stuttgart.

De Stijl (The Style) co-founded by Mondrian with Theo van Doesburg, the group was known for attempting to achieve spirituality, harmony and order through what they termed “neo-plasticism”. Their work was abstract, their colors (usually primary with black and white) and lines pure with no ornamentation.  Geometric lines based on the square and rectangle dominated the work, creating a play between positive and negative spaces.