Historic Meerveldhoven
Villa Dudok
Johannes Cornelis van der Meren commissioned this villa in 1937. Built in 1937 by contractor Pieter van Grootel, this villa displays a straight forward style copying the world renowned architect Willem Marinus Dudok. Because of its high cultural and historic value it has the legal status of National Monument. In the region it is one of the very few examples of applying a business like style in the field of architecture.
Willem Dudok
Dudok (1884-1974) received a lot of praise for his work at home and abroad. He built a lot of projects in Hilversum, the best known being the Town Hall. At first Dudok was influenced by Berlage and the School of Amsterdam, but as of 1920 he developed his own form language along the lines of cubic expressionism.
Protecting the landscape
In a 1935 lecture he postured that landscape protection is not achieved by city expansion but by city perfection. He believed sincerely that surrounding nature is of great importance and that building styles damaging it should be avoided. By this he meant that ribbon building should be avoided and opposed and that the city should be isolated from the landscape. According to his own rules he realized Hilversum’s expansion plans.
The White Village
Van Grootel and Van der Meeren were already familiar with Hilversum’s architect Dudok. Het ‘Witte Dorp’ (White Village) in Eindhoven was also created by him with van Grootel being the builder and Van der Meeren the real estate agent.
