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Petra Brouwer

University of Amsterdam, Art History, Assistant Professor Architectural History

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Phone: -31-(0)20-525 3037
Address: University of Amsterdam
Department of Arts and Culture
Turfdraagsterpad 15-17
Room 2.16
1012 XT Amsterdam

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Stefan Muthesius

University of East Anglia

Terrance M P Duggan

Akdeniz University

Gáspár Salamon

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Sonja Hildebrand

University of Lugano

University of Münster

University of Vienna

ELEONORA VRATSKIDOU

Athens School of Fine Arts

J. M. Simões Ferreira

Universidade de Lisboa

Syracuse University

Catholic Theological Private University Linz, Austria

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Articles by Petra Brouwer

The Pioneering Architectural History Books of Fergusson, Kugler, and Lübke. Getty Research Journal (2018) no. 10, 105-120.

Halfway through the nineteenth century, three pioneering architectural publications came out almo... more Halfway through the nineteenth century, three pioneering architectural publications came out almost simultaneously: James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture (1855); Wilhelm Lübke, Geschichte der Architektur (1855); and Franz Kugler, Geschichte der Baukunst (1856–78). These surveys were the first that aimed at narrating a world history of architecture. While today the canonical images and histories in architectural surveys are regarded as clichés that confirm dominant values and established practices, this essay argues that at the time of its invention it was a critical and dynamic genre. Conscious of the pioneering nature of their books, Fergusson, Lübke, and Kugler accounted extensively for their aims and methods. All too soon, however, the genre of the architectural history survey text became a victim of its own success. The critical nature of the survey’s origin was put to an end by its spectacular succession of reeditions in the subsequent decades.

English summary of In de marge van de canon. Over Nederlandse architectuur in de eerste architectuurgeschiedenisboeken. Bulletin (KNOB), 114 (2015) 1, 39-55.

b ull e tin kn o b 2015 • 1 55 gentiende eeuw (2011) en onderzoek naar de architectuurcanon, dat ... more

Symbolic gestures? Planning and replanning Amsterdam's Bijlmermeer and new town Almere since 1965. Informationen zur modernen Stadtgeschichte, 2013 (1), 48-59.

Versiering als noodzaak. Over de taal van het ornament in de 19de eeuw, Kunstschrift 54 (2010) 2, 22-29.

On the importance of ornament in nineteenth century architecture as a means of architectural comm... more

De uitvinding van de geschiedenis. De wordingsgeschiedenissen van steen, hout en constructies in negentiende-eeuwse handboeken voor de burgerlijke bouwkunst, De Negentiende Eeuw 28 (2004) 2, 129-148

Spilzucht van tijd. Over nut en noodzaak van anachronismen, De Witte Raaf XVI (2001) 94, 11-12.

On the usefulness of anachronisms. They articulate what is regarded as admitted truth in a certai... more

Een souvenir uit Cardiff. Over geschiedenis, massa en waarneming in de negentiende eeuw, Feit & Fictie IV (2000) 4, 75-92.

A souvenir from Cardiff. On history, the general public and observation in the nineteenth century... more A souvenir from Cardiff. On history, the general public and observation in the nineteenth century.
In this article I apply John Ruskin's and Jonathan Crary's theories on vision on 1) the architecture of Cardiff Castle and 2) the touristic consumption of the landscape, as recorded in a popular travel guide.

Boomtown Almere. Form follows lifestyle, Archis (1999) 12, 10-23.

Essay in book by Petra Brouwer

Handbook, in Mari Hvattum and Anne Hultzsch (eds.), The Printed and the Built. Architecture , Print Culture and Public Debate in the Nineteenth Century. London, Bloomsbury 2018, 211-217

With Matteo Kuijpers, Originality is a Waste. In: Winny Maas and Felix Madrazo (eds.), Copy Paste. The Badass Architectural Copy Guide, Rotterdam, nai010 publishers 2017, 96-103.

This article explores the possibilities of bringing the practice of Copy Paste back out into the ... more This article explores the possibilities of bringing the practice of Copy Paste back out into the open: Why should it be doomed to work its power illicitly? What if Copy Paste once again became an openly applied, legitimate method of creating contemporary architecture? What would the advantages be and what would it entail?

Architecture. Dutch, In: Joep Leerssen (ed.), Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, Vol. 2. Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press 2018, 806-808.

Entry on Dutch 19th century architecture and the architectural debate on the representation of na... more

An illustrated comparison of 'true styles'.James Fergusson. The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture, 1855. In: Matteo Burioni (ed.), Weltgeschichten der Architektur. Urspruünge, Narrative, Bilder 1700-2016. Dietmar Klinger Verlag, Passau 2017, 42-44.

Entry on James Fergusson's Handbook for the Catalogue of the Exhibition 'Weltgeschichten der Arch... more

Das niederländische Architekturhandbuch im 19. Jahrhundert: Motor der Erneuerung. In U. Hassler (Ed.), Der Lehrbuchdiskurs über das Bauen, Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag an der ETH Zürich 2015, 152-167.

Appropriating new standards. The influence of French books on the first Dutch architectural manuals in the nineteenth century, in: R. Carvais (a.o. eds.), Traduire l’architecture, Paris: Picard 2015, 233-243.

‘A building for the opera’, in: Si può? Dutch National Opera 50 Years, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers 2015, 249 (Nederlandse tekst, 51-52).

Almeres schaalsprong. Verlangen naar een complete stad. In P. Brouwer, Z. Hemel, A. Oxenaar, V. van Rossem & V. Stissi (Eds.), Liber amicorum Manfred Bock, Jaarboek Cuypersgenootschap, Druten: 2014, pp. 21-26.

‘The Unreliable Eye. The Decline of Vision as a Reliable Source of Knowledge in Dutch Architectural Theory of the Nineteenth Century’, in: C. van Eck en E. Winters (eds.), Dealing with the Visual: Aesthetics, Art History and Visual Culture, Londen: Ashgate 2005, 191-208.

Books by Petra Brouwer

Summary of Phd Thesis Petra Brouwer, De Wetten van de Bouwkunst, NAI Publishers Rotterdam 2009.pdf

My thesis, titled The laws of architecture. Dutch architectural handbooks in the 19th century, de... more My thesis, titled The laws of architecture. Dutch architectural handbooks in the 19th century, describes how the understanding of civil architecture in the Netherlands changed during the course of the nineteenth century. A system of rules and practical instructions founded on geometry and traditional practice made way for an ideal body of knowledge consisting of scientific and historical laws.

Reviews by Petra Brouwer

Review of Theo Baart, Werklust. Biografie van een gebruikslandschap/Biography of a landschape in transition, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers, 352 p., in De Witte Raaf XXIV (2016) 179, 21

Review of Mieke Dings, Tussen tent en villa. Het vakantiepark in Nederland 1920-nu, Rot-terdam: nai010 publishers, 2015, 544 p., on www.archined.nl - 11 July 2016 online

Review on Mieke Dings study of holiday parks in the Netherlands, 1920-present

The Pioneering Architectural History Books of Fergusson, Kugler, and Lübke. Getty Research Journal (2018) no. 10, 105-120.

Halfway through the nineteenth century, three pioneering architectural publications came out almo... more Halfway through the nineteenth century, three pioneering architectural publications came out almost simultaneously: James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture (1855); Wilhelm Lübke, Geschichte der Architektur (1855); and Franz Kugler, Geschichte der Baukunst (1856–78). These surveys were the first that aimed at narrating a world history of architecture. While today the canonical images and histories in architectural surveys are regarded as clichés that confirm dominant values and established practices, this essay argues that at the time of its invention it was a critical and dynamic genre. Conscious of the pioneering nature of their books, Fergusson, Lübke, and Kugler accounted extensively for their aims and methods. All too soon, however, the genre of the architectural history survey text became a victim of its own success. The critical nature of the survey’s origin was put to an end by its spectacular succession of reeditions in the subsequent decades.

English summary of In de marge van de canon. Over Nederlandse architectuur in de eerste architectuurgeschiedenisboeken. Bulletin (KNOB), 114 (2015) 1, 39-55.

b ull e tin kn o b 2015 • 1 55 gentiende eeuw (2011) en onderzoek naar de architectuurcanon, dat ... more

Symbolic gestures? Planning and replanning Amsterdam's Bijlmermeer and new town Almere since 1965. Informationen zur modernen Stadtgeschichte, 2013 (1), 48-59.

Versiering als noodzaak. Over de taal van het ornament in de 19de eeuw, Kunstschrift 54 (2010) 2, 22-29.

On the importance of ornament in nineteenth century architecture as a means of architectural comm... more

De uitvinding van de geschiedenis. De wordingsgeschiedenissen van steen, hout en constructies in negentiende-eeuwse handboeken voor de burgerlijke bouwkunst, De Negentiende Eeuw 28 (2004) 2, 129-148

Spilzucht van tijd. Over nut en noodzaak van anachronismen, De Witte Raaf XVI (2001) 94, 11-12.

On the usefulness of anachronisms. They articulate what is regarded as admitted truth in a certai... more

Een souvenir uit Cardiff. Over geschiedenis, massa en waarneming in de negentiende eeuw, Feit & Fictie IV (2000) 4, 75-92.

A souvenir from Cardiff. On history, the general public and observation in the nineteenth century... more A souvenir from Cardiff. On history, the general public and observation in the nineteenth century.
In this article I apply John Ruskin's and Jonathan Crary's theories on vision on 1) the architecture of Cardiff Castle and 2) the touristic consumption of the landscape, as recorded in a popular travel guide.

Boomtown Almere. Form follows lifestyle, Archis (1999) 12, 10-23.

Handbook, in Mari Hvattum and Anne Hultzsch (eds.), The Printed and the Built. Architecture , Print Culture and Public Debate in the Nineteenth Century. London, Bloomsbury 2018, 211-217

With Matteo Kuijpers, Originality is a Waste. In: Winny Maas and Felix Madrazo (eds.), Copy Paste. The Badass Architectural Copy Guide, Rotterdam, nai010 publishers 2017, 96-103.

This article explores the possibilities of bringing the practice of Copy Paste back out into the ... more This article explores the possibilities of bringing the practice of Copy Paste back out into the open: Why should it be doomed to work its power illicitly? What if Copy Paste once again became an openly applied, legitimate method of creating contemporary architecture? What would the advantages be and what would it entail?

Architecture. Dutch, In: Joep Leerssen (ed.), Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, Vol. 2. Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press 2018, 806-808.

Entry on Dutch 19th century architecture and the architectural debate on the representation of na... more

An illustrated comparison of 'true styles'.James Fergusson. The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture, 1855. In: Matteo Burioni (ed.), Weltgeschichten der Architektur. Urspruünge, Narrative, Bilder 1700-2016. Dietmar Klinger Verlag, Passau 2017, 42-44.

Entry on James Fergusson's Handbook for the Catalogue of the Exhibition 'Weltgeschichten der Arch... more

Das niederländische Architekturhandbuch im 19. Jahrhundert: Motor der Erneuerung. In U. Hassler (Ed.), Der Lehrbuchdiskurs über das Bauen, Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag an der ETH Zürich 2015, 152-167.

Appropriating new standards. The influence of French books on the first Dutch architectural manuals in the nineteenth century, in: R. Carvais (a.o. eds.), Traduire l’architecture, Paris: Picard 2015, 233-243.

‘A building for the opera’, in: Si può? Dutch National Opera 50 Years, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers 2015, 249 (Nederlandse tekst, 51-52).

Almeres schaalsprong. Verlangen naar een complete stad. In P. Brouwer, Z. Hemel, A. Oxenaar, V. van Rossem & V. Stissi (Eds.), Liber amicorum Manfred Bock, Jaarboek Cuypersgenootschap, Druten: 2014, pp. 21-26.

‘The Unreliable Eye. The Decline of Vision as a Reliable Source of Knowledge in Dutch Architectural Theory of the Nineteenth Century’, in: C. van Eck en E. Winters (eds.), Dealing with the Visual: Aesthetics, Art History and Visual Culture, Londen: Ashgate 2005, 191-208.

Summary of Phd Thesis Petra Brouwer, De Wetten van de Bouwkunst, NAI Publishers Rotterdam 2009.pdf

My thesis, titled The laws of architecture. Dutch architectural handbooks in the 19th century, de... more My thesis, titled The laws of architecture. Dutch architectural handbooks in the 19th century, describes how the understanding of civil architecture in the Netherlands changed during the course of the nineteenth century. A system of rules and practical instructions founded on geometry and traditional practice made way for an ideal body of knowledge consisting of scientific and historical laws.

Review of Theo Baart, Werklust. Biografie van een gebruikslandschap/Biography of a landschape in transition, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers, 352 p., in De Witte Raaf XXIV (2016) 179, 21

Review of Mieke Dings, Tussen tent en villa. Het vakantiepark in Nederland 1920-nu, Rot-terdam: nai010 publishers, 2015, 544 p., on www.archined.nl - 11 July 2016 online

Review on Mieke Dings study of holiday parks in the Netherlands, 1920-present

Review of Bernard Hulsman, Luuk Kramer, Het rijtjeshuis. Geschiedenis van een oer-Hollands fenomeen, Amsterdam: Nieuw Amsterdam, 2013, 160 p. in: Bulletin KNOB 113 (2014) 2, 108-109.

Review of ...die ächte Bildung des Baumeisters. Der Lehrbuchdiskurs über das Bauen. Organisation: Uta Hassler, Torsten Meyer, Christoph Rauhut, Knut Stegmann, ETH Zürich, 16-17 Feb 2012, in: Conference room, EAHN Newsletter 2/2012, 80-83.

Review of Coert Peter Krabbe, Droomreis op papier. De Prix de Rome en de Nederlandse architectuur (1808-1851), Leiden: Primavera Pers, 2009, 303 p., in: De negentiende eeuw 35 (2011) 4, 229-230.

History corrupts. Absolute history corrupts absolutely. De Harvard Designschool Guide to Shopping van Rem Koolhaas, De Witte Raaf XVII (2002) 97, 4-6.

Session Peripheral Historiographies: Architectural History in the Margins of Europe. The Making of the Humanities Conference VII, Amsterdam 15-17 Nov. 2018. Co-organizer Kristina Jõekalda. With Anna Ripatti, Nikolaos Magouliotis, Mārtiņš Mintaurs, Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno

by Petra Brouwer and Kristina Jõekalda

This session addresses the practice of writing architectural history in Europe's 'peripheral' reg... more This session addresses the practice of writing architectural history in Europe's 'peripheral' regions in the 19th and early 20th century. Since the first 'general' histories of architecture were in fact predominantly focused on German, Italian, English and French architecture (and the monuments of Classical Greece), it is our aim to critically analyze Eurocentrism from the hitherto neglected perspective of Europe's 'margins'. Rather than looking at local and national architectural histories per se, the session is concerned with how these can be placed in a wider geographical and disciplinary framework. The contributions address the troublesome relationship between the local, the national and the general, reflecting on the construction of Europe's centers and peripheries with questions such as: To what extent were the surveys on local architectural history aimed at 'filling the gaps' in general histories? What other approaches were developed, and how convincing they were in providing alternative narratives?

Session European Peripheries in Architectural Historiography. EAHN Fifth Meeting, Tallin 13-16 June 2018. Co-organizer Kristina Jõekalda. With Stylianos Giamarelos, Eva Radionova and Yelizaveta Yanovich, Ricardo Costa Agarez, Irina Davidovici

by Petra Brouwer and Kristina Jõekalda

Informed by post-colonial theory and more recent attempts to write alternative histories, archite... more Informed by post-colonial theory and more recent attempts to write alternative histories, architectural historians have increasingly criticized the persistence of the architectural canon and its Eurocentric perspective, questioning its categories, narratives, and terminology. Our session aims to critically analyse Eurocentrism from the hitherto neglected perspective of Europe's own 'margins'. We take as a starting point that Eurocentrism, as operationalized in the first architectural history surveys from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, comprises only a few countries: Germany, England, France, Italy, and classical Greece. With their exclusive focus on monuments, like Greek temples or French and German cathedrals, as exemplifying stylistic perfection, all other European architecture, be it from the Baltic countries, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, or Scandinavia, was deemed marginal. From the late nineteenth century onwards, many of these 'margins' produced their own historical accounts on national or regional architecture. Almost without exception, these accounts explicated their national and regional architecture as a derivation, relying heavily on the historiography at hand. The hypothesis we want to bring up for discussion is that by adopting the method and narrative of the general histories of architecture, these national and regional architectural histories have perpetuated their position in the margins to this very day. This session addresses the practice of architectural history writing in Europe's 'peripheral' countries and regions from the nineteenth century to the present that address the problematic relationship between the local, the national, and the general. We are not interested in local and national histories per se, but rather in the way they can be positioned within a wider geographical and disciplinary framework. The selected papers set out to explore cultural exchange and transfer (through influence, appropriation, inclusion, opposition, role models) and the local/indigenous (through geography, religion, race, building material, politics, history) in the widest sense. They reflect on the construction of Europe's centres and peripheries with questions such as: To what extent were the books on local and national architectural history aimed at 'filling the gaps' of general architectural history? What alternative approaches were developed? Should we interpret the adaptation of the Eurocentric perspective as a self-colonizing act and the alternatives as subversive, or are other readings possible? How far have historical realities further strengthened divisions between the East and West or the South and North of Europe?

World Histories of Architecture: The Emergence of a New Genre in the Nineteenth Century. International Workshop - 2017

Workshop at the NIAS Lorentz Center Leiden, 29 November - 1 December 2017 With Sarah Allaback, Ch... more Workshop at the NIAS Lorentz Center Leiden, 29 November - 1 December 2017
With Sarah Allaback, Christopher-Drew Amstrong, Dirk Baalman, Barry Bergdoll, Alex Bremner, Martin Bressani, Petra Brouwer, Matteo Burioni, Ute Engel, Javier Gíron, Anne Hultzsch, Mari Hvattum, Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Mark Jarzombek, Henrik Karge, Matthew Mullane, Stefan Muthesius, Klaus Jan Philipp, David Theodore, Dell Upton

The Architectural History Survey Text in the Nineteenth Century. Workshop with Sarah Allaback, Christopher Drew Armstrong, Dirk Baalman, Andrew Ballantyne, Martin Bressani, Petra Brouwer, Caroline van Eck, Richard Etlin, Mari Hvattum, Henrik Karge, Stefan Muthesius, Dirk Vande Vijver - 2016

Workshop at the Netherlands Insitute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 22... more Workshop at the Netherlands Insitute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 22-23 February 2016
with Sarah Allaback, Christopher Drew Armstrong, Dirk Baalman, Andrew Ballantyne, Martin Bressani, Petra Brouwer, Caroline van Eck, Richard Etlin, Mari Hvattum, Henrik Karge, Stefan Muthesius, Dirk Vande Vijver. Moderator: Lex Bosman

Wetten en regels. De kennis van de architect. TU Faculteit Bouwkunde, 2 met David de Bruijn, Felix Claus, Bernard Colenbrander, Dingeman Deijs, Karin Laglas, Michiel Riedijk, Lara Schrijver, Mechthild Stuhlmacher, Jan Peter Wingender. Moderator: Maarten Delbeke - 2012

How do contemporary architects look at their profession, as presented in the genre of the ninetee... more How do contemporary architects look at their profession, as presented in the genre of the nineteenth-century architectural manual? Is nineteenth-century knowledge of buidling materials, constructions and ornaments still recognizable today? How does nineteenth-century professional knowledge relate to our architectural knowledge today?

SPUI 25 Debatcentrum. Boekpresentatie De wetten van de bouwkunst. Debat met Remieg Aerts, Petra Brouwer, Lisa Kuitert, Frans van Lunteren - 2011

Bookpresentation De wetten van de bouwkunst. A muliti-disciplinary analyses of the development of... more

Round-table Discussion with Petra Brouwer, Suze Gehem, Aart Oxenaar, Bart van der Vossen. 'The power of the historic city is that it is alive'. In: Rijnboutt Magazine (2017), Special Issue Cultural Heritage. Preservation through development, 26-33

What kind of future awaits the historic city centre of Amsterdam? The municipality of Amsterdam p... more What kind of future awaits the historic city centre of Amsterdam? The municipality of Amsterdam put a bell jar over it in 1999, when it designated the canal belt a protected urban landscape. Eleven years later, the Canal Ring Area received, on the municipality's request, international recognition for its unique qualities by securing a place on the Unesco World Heritage list. What does this mean for the future development of the city centre?

Questioning Almere. How far starchitects and their iconic buildings influence the city and the people of Almere. Interview with Petra Brouwer and Michelle Provoost in Archinesia 3 (2012), 81-

Nieuwe Eerlijkheid Interview with Petra Brouwer in Baksteen (2012), p. 14.pdf

Interview on the use of brick in Dutch architecture and its cultural meaning in the past and the ... more

Een aantal momenten uit de Amsterdamse stedenbouw. Over moed, toekomst en visies, Kunstlicht 28 (2007) 4, 6-11 - Inleiding op het themanummer Historische toekomstvisies voor Amsterdam

Special issue of Kunstlicht, with student essays on historic urban plans for Amsterdam - on the o... more