Martinus Adrianus Stam

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Martinus Adrianus Stam (aka. Mart Stam), was a Dutch architect, interior designer, and industrial designer. He was born in Purmurend, The Netherlands on 5 August 1899, and died in Zurich on 21 February 1986. His style of design is said to be New Objectivity, an art movement formed during the depression in 1920's Germany, as a counter-movement and an out growth of Expressionism.

[edit] Early life and achievements and education

Stam was born in 1899 to a tax collector^[1] and his wife (no records are available of her career). He attended a local school in Purmurend, before training in Amsterdam at the Rijksnormaalschool for Teekenonderwijzers for two years between 1917 and 1919^[2].

After qualifying in 1919, Stam began working as a draftsman with an architectural firm in Rotterdam. He boldly stated between his qualification and first career that "We have to change the world." The architectural firm was run by an architect called Granpré Molière. Molière was a traditionalist, and had a different style of design to Stam^[3], but the two worked together well, possibly because they were both Christians, and Stam was invited to work for Moliere personally in his studio in Rotterdam.

However, in 1920, Stam was imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military (dienstweigeren), something which was compulsory in the Netherlands at that time. Those that refused to conscribe were imprisoned for the time period of which the service would take place. Fortunately, Stam was released in 1922^[4], and later that year, created was has said to be his first major achievement - in 1922, through a contest, he was appointed to draw up urban infrastructure plans for the Den Haag region, in the south of The Netherlands. This was a standard plan in many senses, but the main striking feature, was that the majority of the roads, particularly in coastal areas, ran perpendicular to the beach. It is still not known why Stam chose to design them in that way.

By the end of 1922, Stam had moved to Berlin, where he began to develop his style as a New Objectivity architect. In the 3 year period, he had successfully worked in to major agencies - Bureau Granpré Molière, and To Van der Mey. This work would benefit him greatly through his later years.

[edit] Pre-War Years in Germany

His first major work in Berlin was under prominent architect Max Taut. Stam was assigned to design a variety of buildings across Geramny, notably assisting Taut in the design of the German Trade Union Federation Building, Dusseldorf^[5]. During this time, he also worked with Russian avant-garde architect El Lissitzky. The pair's most striking design was the Wolkenbügel, or cloud iron, a t-shaped skyscraper supported on 3 metal framed columns. Although never built, the building was a vivid contrast to America's vertical building style, as the building only rose up a relatively modest height then expanded horizontally over an intersection so make better use of space. Its three posts were on three different street corners, canvassing the intersection. An illustration of it appeared on the front cover of Adolf Behne's book, Der Moderne Zweckbau, and articles on it written by Lissitzky appeared in an issue of the Moscow-based architectural review, ASNOVA News (journal of ASNOVA, the Association of New Architects), and in the German art journal Das Kunstblatt.

[edit] Notes