(b 24 June 1901; d Amsterdam, 7 March 1959). Dutch architect and writer. After studying at the School voor Bouwkunde in Haarlem, he worked in the office of Joseph Cuypers from 1924 to 1925 and thereafter independently. He was a founder-member of the Functionalist ARCHITECTENGROEP DE 8 in Amsterdam in 1927 and as such was one of the pioneers of Nieuwe Bouwen (Dut.: new building) in the Netherlands. From 1927 to c. 1935 he worked in the typical Functionalist idiom developed by such pioneers as Johannes Duiker and Brinkmann & vander Vlugt, producing concrete skeleton buildings with severe geometrical architectural spaces, white façades, much glass, particularly ribbon windows, and flat roofs. The influence of these architects appears in his most important works from this period, such as the competition design (1927; with Ben Merkelbach; unexecuted) for a water-tower in Wassenaar, the Montessori School (1930), Huizen, and the Quinine Factory (1931), Amsterdam. Functionalist concepts, such as the ‘minimum’ and terraced housing, also predominate in a winning competition design (1934; with Alexander Bodon, Charles Karsten and Merkelbach; unexecuted) for cheap housing for workers. Towards the end of this ‘severe’ period Groenewegen developed a more pragmatic Functionalism, in which there was room for some formal freedom, for example the rounded building forms in the extension (1932) of the Quinine Factory, Amsterdam. He also adopted a freer use of materials, particularly the use of more wood and brick, as in the country house (1934) in Huizen. In 1935 and 1938–42 he was an editor of the periodical De 8 en Opbouw. He continued building in a Functionalist style for the remainder of his career, completing a large number of commercial projects.

• Groenewegen, J. H.
  • Architectengroep de 8