Strand met bom

When the art-loving shipping magnat A.J.M. Goudriaan of Van Nievelt & Goudriaan decided to build a countryhouse on the remains of an 18th century plot of ground around 1927, he entrusted its architectural design to his friend and neighbour Willem Kromhout Czn. Kromhout, commissioned with several building projects for his Maecenas' shipping company prior to this, is known for amongst others the Hotel Americain in Amsterdam and the Scheepvaart vereeniging in Rotterdam. Together with Berlage and De Bazel, Kromhout broke with the dull neo-styles prevailant in architecture at the time, and gave building a new impetus with ornamental and eastern designs. Inspired by the esthetical and ideological theories of William Morris (1834-1896) and in close consultation with Goudriaan himself, Kromhout completed Villa Ypenhof on the 's-Gravenweg, Kralingen, in 1929: 'Een juiste samenwerking tusschen opdrachtgever en architect heeft hier geleid tot den bouw van een in alle onderdeelen verzorgde behuizing en tot behoud van een oud landgoed, waarover bewoners van Kralingen zich verheugen' (I. Jager, Willem Kromhout Czn, Rotterdam 1992, p. 112). The villa, which bore many resemblances to the characteristic English country estate, was also furnished by the architect. J. Eissenloeffel, W.H. Gispen and W. Bogtman were amongst the other designers who transformed Villa Ypenhof into a private museum of Dutch arts and crafts. Nowadays, a small door-keepers dwelling is what remains of this fruitful cooperation between the industrialist Goudriaan and the artist Kromhout.
See colour illustration