Juliana School and Catherina van Rennes School, Hilversum, Netherlands

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Eikbosserweg 166, Egelantierstraat 115, Hilversum, Netherlands W.M. Dudok architect The Juliana and Catherine van Rennes Schools were designed between 1925 and 1927 by Willem Marinus Dudok (1884-1974). He cleverly placed the schools so that they create a completely enclosed outdoor play space for the younger children, an open central court shared by both schools, and a formal front entry lawn for the Juliana School. Originally the Julianaschool and the Catherine Rennes Schools were twin schools separated by an open breezeway. In 1933 the schools were joined by Dudok with a renovation to enclose the breezeway and add additional clerestory windows to bring more light into the north side classrooms. Dudok gave the schools two completely different characters. The Catherine Rennes School was a public kindergarten. To feel familiar to small children, Dudok designed a low building with cozy sloping roofs and a verandah with broad overhangs. Juliana School was a Christian advanced primary school. The two floors of the interlocking rectangular masses gave this school a more serious and disciplined appearance. The geometry of these schools is like a watch. The window modules and design elements are closely tied together in all three dimensions. The level of detail resolution is incredible. A complex site with three non standard design axis and grids resulted in several different obtuse angles at the intersections. This could have resulted in awkward corner transitions. Dudok, however, has masterly detailed each of these corners to become highlights that are design gems in themselves. Interestingly, these schools appear to include subtle iconography in the detailing that reflect the different uses of the two schools. For example, if you zoom in on the bay windows on the Julianna school you can see crosses expressed in the windows mullions, tile and brickwork. The tower for each school also appear to contain intentional contrasting messages. Historical photos of the school show the central yard with a well manicured lawn, gorgeous perimeter flower beds, lovely foliage in every raised planter, and a cute little shallow fountain as centrepiece. Moreover, there were no security fences. While current photos thankfully show the school well maintained and cared for - It is kind of sad that we have lost that gracious, well mannered, perhaps even slightly luxurious approach to inspiring future generations envisioned by Dudok. Catharina van Rennes was a Dutch composer and singing teacher who focused on instilling the importance of music for children. She developed her own teaching methods which focused on individual inspiration and creativity. Significantly, one of her students was Princess Juliana. The model is representative of the school as it is now, although there are also scenes (and layers) set up to show the schools and open breezeway as originally designed. It was based on imagery found on the web and Dudok’s drawings reproduced in the excellent CD-rom “Dudok: Werken in Hilversum” published by Gemeente Hilversum (2004). There are a few locations that were not visible in any of the sources. I apologize for any misinterpretation. This model is geolocated.