In the late fifties Marcel Breuer built the American Embassy in the Hague, on a famously beautiful spot: the Lange Voorhout. Think charming, centuries old palatial buildings on a wide, tree lined promenade.
It was - and is - considered by many an eyesore, the building being a pre-brutalist, Marshall Plan era block: uncompromising, unapproachable, unkind, even aggressive. Empty now, the Americans moved out a couple of weeks ago to a new Embassy near Wassenaar. This is the first time the building is open to the public.
We planned a visit: this we think such an ugly building, let's have a look inside. So here I stood in front of the building (for a very long time - massive queue) and finally looked at it closely. These, for the building so tipical trapezodial windows (a whopping 287!) did give a fascinating perspective - mesmerizing. Whoa - why hadn't I seen that before? A sense of fun and fantasy, and a clever idea of cunning people came into mind.
Then we entered the building.
Oh my. Cramped little offices, the building not a fierce concrete block but only two tiny offices and a small corridor deep.
Frugal. Sparce. No money spent on decoration. No money spent on anything at all - well, we're talking the late fifties. Only an impressive outside.
It's a 'national monument' now so it cannot be demolished. And finally, after 40 years of grumbling about this building, I'm glad it will stay. See my pictures.
It was - and is - considered by many an eyesore, the building being a pre-brutalist, Marshall Plan era block: uncompromising, unapproachable, unkind, even aggressive. Empty now, the Americans moved out a couple of weeks ago to a new Embassy near Wassenaar. This is the first time the building is open to the public.
We planned a visit: this we think such an ugly building, let's have a look inside. So here I stood in front of the building (for a very long time - massive queue) and finally looked at it closely. These, for the building so tipical trapezodial windows (a whopping 287!) did give a fascinating perspective - mesmerizing. Whoa - why hadn't I seen that before? A sense of fun and fantasy, and a clever idea of cunning people came into mind.
Then we entered the building.
Oh my. Cramped little offices, the building not a fierce concrete block but only two tiny offices and a small corridor deep.
Frugal. Sparce. No money spent on decoration. No money spent on anything at all - well, we're talking the late fifties. Only an impressive outside.
It's a 'national monument' now so it cannot be demolished. And finally, after 40 years of grumbling about this building, I'm glad it will stay. See my pictures.
