William (Willem) Marinus Dudok, Hon. FAIA

Year Awarded: 1955
Born: July 06, 1884; Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Died: 1974; Hilversum,The Netherlands

Quote
Architecture is the beautiful and serious game of space.


Projects
• 1937: Erasmus House, Rotterdam
• 1931: Hilversum Town Hall, Amsterdam
• 1930: Bijenkorf Store, Rotterdam


Biography
William Dudok studied engineering at the Royal Military Academy at Breda in the Netherlands. As an army engineer, he built military barracks and defensive forts for the Dutch army. In the mid-1920s, he became town architect for Hilversum, outside Amsterdam, designing a number of public buildings and and overseeing the town’s expansion through entire neighborhoods. His best-known work is the Hilversum Town Hall, built in 1930–1931. In addition, he designed stores and theaters for Hilversum and for Rotterdam.

Strongly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, Dudok’s mature style is often described using two phrases: dramatic asymmetry and the geometric massing of blocks. He had a preference for bricks and clean lines in his designs, and he tended to emphasize horizontal and vertical elements.

In 1935 Dudok received the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.