Functionalism in Rotterdam 1927-1937

The city of Rotterdam is in the Netherlands famous for its modernist/functionalist architecture. Especially  between  1927 and 1937 a lot of buildings were realize in the style of the so called 'Nieuwe Zakelijkheid' (Dutch translation of the German term Neue Sachlichkeit). A group of progressive architects such as Johannes Duiker, Cornelis van Eesteren en Leendert van der Vlugt organized meetings and published a magazine called "De 8 & Opbouw", a collaboration between architects and engineers form both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. They played an important role in de CIAM congres of 1929.
An important player for the city of Rotterdam was J.J.P Oud, who designed in 1927 the functionalist housing project in the coast village of Hoek van Holland. The houses had were white plastered, and had the characteristic horizontal windows, typical for early modernist houses. But the most important architect in Rotterdam was without any doubt Leenderd van der Vlugt. His most famous buildings are the Van Nelle factory, a project that was finished in 1928 in collaboration with Jan Brinkman (son of Michel Brinkman) and Mart Stam.
Very important for the development of high-rise apartment buildings is the Bergpolderflat. The design was made in close collaboration between Brinkman & Van der Vlugt and W. van Tijen. The building was very important for the development of post-war high-rise social housing projects.
Despite the heavy bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940 by the Nazi air force, most of these functionalist masterpieces remain intact today. One exception is the Bijenkorf, a large department store at the Coolsingel designed by W.M. Dudok. The remarkable building was hit by a bomb and after the war the remains were destroyed.
The building activity before WWII came to and end with the construction of the Feyenoord Soccer Stadium. What is is interesting about the building activity in the Interbellum is the lasting influence these buildings had in the Dutch post-war architecture.

Stadium Feyenoord Rotterdam: A Monument of Functionalist Architecture

Currently I am working on a research on the Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. People form Rotterdam use to call it "de Kuip". I many respects I should be considered as one of the most important remains of the functionalist movement. The building is designed by Brinkman and Van der Vlugt, who also designed the famous Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam. The building was completed in 1936, a few months after the early death of Leendert van der Vlugt. Unfortuanally the building nowadays does not show its groundbreaking features anymore, especially from the outer facade lost its modernist transparency and lightness. Important features of the building: The free-floating second ring without supporting columns at the end. The main construction on the outside, completely visible. Emphasized are the 22 staircase because the movement of the crowd had to be shown; the building is a machine. And off course, the industrial apparance is also a reference to the cranes and ships in the harbors of Rotterdam.
The pictures here below all come from the Dutch magazine Bouwkundig Weekblad, published in 1936.