J.J.P. Oud 1890–1963
Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, known simply as J.J.P, was a leading Dutch architect, designer, and urban planner of the modern movement. Born in 1890, he was educated at the Quellinus Arts and Crafts School, Amsterdam, the Rijksnormal School, Amsterdam, and Netherland Delft Technical University in Amsterdam. He later gained practical experience working both in Amsterdam and Munich. In 1917, alongside Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, he became involved with the experimental De Stijl group of avant-garde artists and their influential periodical.
Oud was known for his austere, geometric style which highlighted asymmetry and was void of ornamentation. His earliest modern architectural projects included a movie theater, worker’s housing, and a factory in his hometown of Purmerend between the years of 1906 through 1917. The following year he was appointed housing architect to the city of Rotterdam. Oud believed it was civic duty to provide low-cost, social housing and he won great appeal through his mass-produced and economical designs. Later in his career his architectural projects greatly influenced the International Style which had grown in popularity in the 1920s. Oud also approached furniture design with the same modernist style creating collections for Metz & Co. among others.
