Michel de Klerk was the great inspirer of the Amsterdam School, the Dutch expressionist movement in architecture. Besides a brilliant architect he was also a versatile artist. 'The Rembrandt among architects' made drawings and paintings and designed furniture and interiors. De Klerk created an innovative language of forms and brought beauty to the working class. This book reveals the versatility of his work through lavish images and quotes from De Klerk himself and his contemporaries.

The fantastic works of Antoni Gaudí and the Amsterdam School still appeal to the imagination. And although the architects never met each other, they were children of the same period. They looked for beauty and individuality in a world which was becoming increasingly functional and impersonal.

At the heart of their designs are nature and its organic forms, craftsmanship and traditional materials. At the same time, though, they did not turn their backs on modernity, embracing new techniques an...

The Dageraad is a world-famous social housing complex located in Berlage’s Plan Zuid. It was designed by the architects Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer in the style of the Amsterdam School.

The initiative to build it was taken by a workers cooperative that managed shops and wanted to provide the workers with good quality housing. Important Dutch politicians were involved in its realisation, among them Amsterdam’s Alderman Floor Wibaut, who is still honoured at the complex today. In 2001,...