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Piet KramerDutch architect
Date of Birth: 01.07.1881
Country:  Netherlands |
Content:
- Early Life and Influences
- Architectural Career
- Partnership with Michel de Klerk
- Bridge Architect
- Beyond Amsterdam
- Personal Life
# Pieter Lodewijk Kramer: A Pioneer of the Amsterdamse School Architecture
Early Life and Influences
Pieter Lodewijk Kramer was born on July 1, 1881, in Amsterdam, to Folckert Nicolaas Kramer, a physician, and his wife, Anna Roelofs. After graduating high school, he enrolled in the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture and Visual Arts.
Architectural Career
Kramer began his architectural career in the atelier of Eduard Cuypers, where he collaborated with Michel de Klerk and Johan van der Mey, two other founders of the Amsterdamse School movement. In 1912, they jointly designed the Scheepvaarthuis (House of Shipping), a large cooperative building commissioned by six Dutch shipping companies.
Partnership with Michel de Klerk
Kramer co-designed several buildings in Amsterdam with Michel de Klerk, including the apartment complex on Pieter Lodewijk Takstraat and Burgemeester Tellegenstraat. These structures featured distinctive protruding gables, similar to those on De Klerk's famed Het Schip (The Ship), which served as purely decorative elements.
Bridge Architect
From 1917 to 1952, Kramer worked as a bridge architect for the Municipal Department of Public Works. He designed over 400 bridges, including about 100 in the Amsterdamse Bos park. He often oversaw not only the bridges themselves but also the surrounding houses, railings, and landscaping.
Beyond Amsterdam
Outside Amsterdam, Kramer's notable works include the De Bijenkorf department store in The Hague (with De Klerk and Van der Mey) and three villas in Park Meerwijk in Bergen.
Personal Life
Kramer married twice. His first wife, Johanna van der Weide, with whom he had four children, passed away in 1931. A month later, he married Johanna Petronella Alberdina Catharina Gutmakers, but they divorced in 1941. Kramer passed away in 1961 at the age of 79 and was buried in the Westerveld cemetery.
