Uitgever
Artikelen
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Apart from a keen interest in materials, constructions and dating, Dutch housing research of the past fifty years has been dominated by a typological approach in which the typology of a house is equated with the floor plan, in combination with the external appearance of the building volume. In 2014 this approach was severely criticized in the doctoral thesis of Petra Maclot, who pointed out that it had led to untenable generalizations and ignores the functional use of the dwellings and their social ranking.
This article investigates how sixteenth-century Amsterdam houses were laid out and used by residents from various social classes and occupational groups. The aim is to shed light on what spatial solutions existed for giving form to housing requirements. The estate inventories of the possessions of Amsterdam residents who had fled the city for religious reasons, drawn up in 1567 and 1568 at the behest of the city administration, are an especially rich source of information, owing to the inclusion of a great many spatial indications. These inventories, when combined with details of the occupation and social status of the residents and with details of the material manifestation of the house, provide insight into the internal spatial structure and use of a number of houses. The study looked at the possibility of accommodating various functions in the houses and examined how multifunctional and monofunctional spaces were used by different social groups. In a number of cases, thanks to tax assessment registers and other sources, it was possible to discover which houses these inventories referred to and their rental value. This was an important aid in assessing whether the spatial manifestation of the house could indeed be hooglinked to a social category or occupational group, and in ascertaining to what extent the value of the house was representative of the occupational group in question.
A division into three income brackets helps to make a rough classification of houses and their users, although it does have a few important drawbacks. Chief of these is the place where the house stands; one neighbourhood is more expensive than another, with the result that a small house in such a neighbourhood is considerably more expensive than a comparable house in a less attractive location. Thus occupational group and income are not definitive indicators of the physical form of the resident’s house. Estate inventories, combined with the occupation of the owner or resident and the rental value of the house, obviously provide greater insight into the appearance and status of the individual house and make it possible to recognize differences between houses that would appear to be roughly equivalent in spatial–typological terms. Research into spatial indications – and ideally into the space itself, if that is possible in the context of building history research – will in turn help our understanding of the layout of the house. The details that can be obtained from the estate inventories show the degree to which the traditional typological and material-based approach to the dwelling tells only part of the story with respect to a broad understanding of the dwelling in history. In the past in Amsterdam, building history details have usually been conceived as material phenomena, without further classification according to time, place and social significance. A functional approach to the dwelling in its social context is therefore urgently needed.
Apart from a keen interest in materials, constructions and dating, Dutch housing research of the past fifty years has been dominated by a typological approach in which the typology of a house is equated with the floor plan, in combination with the external appearance of the building volume. In 2014 this approach was severely criticized in the doctoral thesis of Petra Maclot, who pointed out that it had led to untenable generalizations and ignores the functional use of the dwellings and their social ranking.
This article investigates how sixteenth-century Amsterdam houses were laid out and used by residents from various social classes and occupational groups. The aim is to shed light on what spatial solutions existed for giving form to housing requirements. The estate inventories of the possessions of Amsterdam residents who had fled the city for religious reasons, drawn up in 1567 and 1568 at the behest of the city administration, are an...
Apart from a keen interest in materials, constructions and dating, Dutch housing research of the past fifty years has been dominated by a typological approach in which the typology of a house is equated with the floor plan, in combination with the external appearance of the building...
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Johann Hermann Knoop was born at the beginning of the eighteenth century in Freyenhagen near Kassel (Germany), where his father was in charge of the palace gardens. In 1731, Maria Louise, daughter of the Elector and widow of the Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso, summoned Knoop to the court of the ‘Frisian’ House of Orange in Leeuwarden. There he was responsible for the layout and maintenance of the gardens and estates. In 1747 the ‘Hollandse’ branch of the House of Orange died out and the Frisian branch relocated to The Hague. Leeuwarden lost its status as royal residence and not long afterwards Johann Hermann lost his position. So began his second career as scientist and publicist.
Knoop regarded mathematics, and in particular geometry, as the key to understanding the natural world. It is significant that Knoop’s first publication, in 1744, was a revised and enlarged edition of J. Morgenster’s handbook for engineers and surveyors, Werkdadige Meetkonst. His next scientific publication brought him international fame. Knoop’s Pomologia appeared in Dutch in 1758; German and French translations followed in 1760 and 1771 respectively. Pomologia classifies all the then known apple and pear trees and their fruit, and is embellished with exceptionally fine, coloured drawings. It was followed by similar volumes on garden trees and fruit trees; the trilogy was reprinted several times. Knoop’s contributions to the Dutch encyclopedia underscores his status as a respected scientist.
However, his greatest importance derives from the publications in which he addressed himself to the ordinary citizen. These can be divided into three categories: garden books, historical-anthropological works and, finally, publications in which he endeavoured to summarize information useful in everyday life. Knoop’s first book written for a general readership, published in 1752, was about the garden: De beknopte huishoudelyke hovenier, of korte verhandeling en synonymische en meernamige listen (The concise home gardener, or brief discourse and synonymic and multiname lists). It was followed in 1760 by a volume explaining the ornamental garden. A volume dealing with the medicinal use of plants completed the trilogy in 1762.
Just as mathematics helps us to understand the natural world, so history and anthropology are helpful in understanding the social order. After a 1759 booklet about heraldry, geography and history in the form of a game (a precursor of today’s ‘serious gaming’), in 1763 Knoop published his masterwork in this field: Tegenwoordige staat of historische beschryvinge van Friesland (Current state or historical account of Friesland), a hefty 539-page work.
The third category summarizes existing knowledge. In 1756 the first volume of Jongmans onderwijser appeared, followed three years later by volume two; together they amounted to over 1500 pages of information on mathematics, bookkeeping, the art of letter writing, the proper way to draw up contracts, geometry, stereometry, political history, logic, physics, mechanics, architecture, astronomy and instructions for making sundials. The section on architecture is over one hundred pages long and can lay claim to being the Netherlands’ best concealed eighteenth-century architectural treatise.
Knoop’s world was that of science, art and popular education. He believed that it was science that determined the individual’s position in the natural and social order and he felt that it was essential that people should be aware of this: dissemination of knowledge was as important for him as scientific research, and that made him a typical representative of the Enlightenment.
Johann Hermann Knoop was born at the beginning of the eighteenth century in Freyenhagen near Kassel (Germany), where his father was in charge of the palace gardens. In 1731, Maria Louise, daughter of the Elector and widow of the Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso, summoned Knoop to the court of the ‘Frisian’ House of Orange in Leeuwarden. There he was responsible for the layout and maintenance of the gardens and estates. In 1747 the ‘Hollandse’ branch of the House of Orange died out and the Frisian branch relocated to The Hague. Leeuwarden lost its status as royal residence and not long afterwards Johann Hermann lost his position. So began his second career as scientist and publicist.
Knoop regarded mathematics, and in particular geometry, as the key to understanding the natural world. It is significant that Knoop’s first publication, in 1744, was a revised and enlarged edition of J. Morgenster’s handbook for engineers and...
Johann Hermann Knoop was born at the beginning of the eighteenth century in Freyenhagen near Kassel (Germany), where his father was in charge of the palace gardens. In 1731, Maria Louise, daughter of the Elector and widow of the Frisian stadholder Johan Willem Friso, summoned Knoop...
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The central theme of this article is the application of Geographic Information Systems, gis for short, as an instrument for spatial research into historical country estate landscapes aimed at increasing knowledge about historical layout, spatial coherence and development over time. This kind of research can focus on individual country estates in their immediate surroundings (house, garden, park, landscape), but can also be applied at the regional scale, where ensembles of several country estates are looked at in conjunction with their landscape context. gi s is generally seen as a powerful instrument for geographic data processing and cartography; its analytical merits are often overlooked. There are national and international examples of historical– geographical, landscape–archeological and landscape–architectural research in which the analytical qualities of gis have been used to acquire and enrich historical knowledge. Although there has always been and still is considerable interest in country estate landscapes, gis has been used only occasionally in this kind of research and very little has been written about it.
This article seeks to demonstrate the potential of gi s in this kind of research with reference to a number of applications in country estate research inside and outside the Netherlands, thereby contributing to the development and dissemination of knowledge in this field and helping to fill the knowledge gap between country estate research and the possibilities afforded by geoinformation technology.
To this end it describes and illustrates some of the ways in which gis can be used as a research instrument. These include data gathering, the use and processing of available analogue and digital sources as well as cartometric source analysis, measurement and correction of deviations in historical cartographic material in the interests of reconstruction. gis-based analyses of the spatial structure and coherence over time from horizontal (from inside) and vertical (from above) perspectives feature prominently in the article, together with different forms of representation such as maps, virtual landscapes and 3D prints.
The article shows that the use of the processing power of computers, in combination with inventive data gathering and modelling, analysis and visualization in an interactive process with the user, makes it possible to acquire and enrich information and knowledge about historical country estate landscapes. gis effectively extends the researcher’s observation via measurements, simulations and experiments, and opens new perspectives on the situational and cultural-historical aspects of country estates, which can play a part in value assessment and decisions regarding the use and management of these living green monuments.
The central theme of this article is the application of Geographic Information Systems, gis for short, as an instrument for spatial research into historical country estate landscapes aimed at increasing knowledge about historical layout, spatial coherence and development over time. This kind of research can focus on individual country estates in their immediate surroundings (house, garden, park, landscape), but can also be applied at the regional scale, where ensembles of several country estates are looked at in conjunction with their landscape context. gi s is generally seen as a powerful instrument for geographic data processing and cartography; its analytical merits are often overlooked. There are national and international examples of historical– geographical, landscape–archeological and landscape–architectural research in which the analytical qualities of gis have been used to acquire and enrich historical knowledge. Although there has always been and still...
The central theme of this article is the application of Geographic Information Systems, gis for short, as an instrument for spatial research into historical country estate landscapes aimed at increasing knowledge about historical layout, spatial coherence and development over time....
Boekbesprekingen
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Review of a book authored by Mieke Dings.
Review of a book authored by Mieke Dings.
Review of a book authored by Mieke Dings.
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Review of a book authored by Peter Nissen en Hein van der Bruggen.
Review of a book authored by Peter Nissen en Hein van der Bruggen.
Review of a book authored by Peter Nissen en Hein van der Bruggen.
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Review of a book by R.H. Alma et al. (ed.).
Review of a book by R.H. Alma et al. (ed.).
Review of a book by R.H. Alma et al. (ed.).