Sybold van Ravesteyn (born Sijbold van Ravesteijn, 18 February 1889,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

— 23 November 1983, Laren) was a Dutch architect. He designed many train stations, many now demolished, a zoo, public buildings such as theatres, as well as residences, interiors and furniture. at Huygens Institute of Netherlands History

Biography

Sybold van Ravesteyn was born 18 February 1889 in Rotterdam. After he studied civil engineering at the

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

(1906–1912), van Ravesteyn worked as an engineer for the

Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen The Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen () or SS (''Company for the Exploitation of the State Railways'') was a private railroad founded to use the government funded railways. The company existed until 1938, when it formally merged ...

and became a specialist on reinforced concrete. He married Dora Hintzen in 1915, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. Van Ravesteyn was influenced by his wife's interest in art. He started to design furniture for his own use, influenced by the Amsterdamse School and later

De Stijl ''De Stijl'' (; ), Dutch for "The Style", also known as Neoplasticism, was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 in Leiden. De Stijl consisted of artists and architects. In a more narrow sense, the term ''De Stijl'' is used to refer to a bod ...

movements. In 1921 he became an architect for the

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

. His first own design was a

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were buil ...

and offices in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...

(1924). In 1926 he designed a room for Villa Noailles. Rotterdam blijdorp toegangshek

In 1931 he divorced and married Johanna van Geelkerken, with whom he had one son. For the Nederlandse Spoorwegen he designed several

railway stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...

, influenced by the

Nieuwe Bouwen Dutch architecture has played an important role in the international discourse on architecture in three eras. The first of these was during the 17th century, when the Dutch empire was at the height of its power. The second was in the first half ...

modernist style. Apart from his job for the Dutch railways, he ran his own agency, designing residences, including his own family's in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

, and furniture, experimenting with a curvaceous style not as focused on functionalism. In 1935 he wrote: "Modern architecture is not square, it is alive". His work for the railways enabled him to travel, and in 1936 he visited

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he studied

baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

, which he loved, and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

's rebuilding of Rome, including the opening up of

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood ( rione) of Borgo. Bo ...

. His vision and ornamental style increasingly clashed with that of his modernist colleagues. Sybold van Ravesteyn designed the entire

Diergaarde Blijdorp ( ''Blijdorp Zoo''), officially Rotterdam Zoo, is a zoo located in the northwestern part of Rotterdam. It is one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivisi ...

zoo (1937–1940), a project he called his life's work. He also designed the interior of the royal yacht ''Piet Hein'' (1937), offered as a wedding gift to

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, wh ...

and

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

van Ravesteyn remained a member of the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

-controlled association of architects to be able to continue his work as an architect, and also designed a railway carriage for

Arthur Seyss-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (German: Seyß-Inquart, ; 22 July 1892 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the ''Anschluss''. His positions in Nazi Germany included "deputy govern ...

. After the war he was officially rebuked. He built a series of petrol stations for ''Purfina'', theatres, and railway stations. Sybold van Ravesteyn died 23 November 1983 in the Rosa Spier Huis retirement home in Laren.

Works

Incomplete list of works by Sybold van Ravesteyn (source Huygens ING unless otherwise indicated): * Goods shed and offices,

(1924) * Guest room of Villa Noailles (1926) blog grapheine.com, ''Permanent exhibition'' on www.villanoailles-hyeres.com on terrevaroise.files.wordpress.com on mativi-marseille.fr * remodelling of jhr. M.R. Radermacher Schorer's house,

(1927) * Water tower, Roermond (1928), * Sybold van Ravesteyn's own house, Prins Hendriklaan, Utrecht (1932-1934): * Lutterade railway station (1931) (demolished) * Spekholzerheide railway station (1933) *

Kerkrade Centrum railway station Kerkrade Centrum is a railway station in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. The station was built in 1933 on the Schaesberg–Simpelveld railway and is the eastern terminus of the Heuvellandlijn (Maastricht–Kerkrade). However, as the Dutch Railways de ...

(1933) (demolished) * remodelling of

Rotterdam Blaak railway station Rotterdam Blaak is a railway station, railway and Rotterdam Metro, metro metro station, station in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Located in the centre of the city, not far from the cube houses and the Market Hall (Rotterdam), Markthal, the station is ser ...

(1934) (destroyed in the

Rotterdam Blitz Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the ...

) * Holiday home ''De Zephyr'', Bergen aan Zee (1936) * remodelling of

Utrecht Centraal railway station Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for the city of Utrecht in the province of Utrecht, Netherla ...

(1936–1940) * ''De Holland'' insurance building,

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

(1937–1939) Restored and converted (2012-15) into the Netherlands National Education Museum * Royal yacht ''Piet Hein'' (interior) (1937) *

(1937–1940, ) * ''Kunstmin'' theatre in Dordrecht (remodelling) (1938–1940, ) * a dining room in the SS Nieuw Amsterdam (1938) *

Roosendaal railway station Roosendaal is a railway station in the city of Roosendaal, Netherlands. The station opened on 3 July 1854 on the Antwerp–Lage Zwaluwe railway and is the beginning of the Roosendaal–Vlissingen railway. Roosendaal was the first station in Nort ...

(remodelling) (1949) * Vlissingen railway station (1950) * Theatre of

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

(1951) *

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family ...

church ''De Hoeksteen'',

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, Ur ...

(1951) *

's-Hertogenbosch railway station s-Hertogenbosch () is a railway station located in 's-Hertogenbosch in North Brabant, Netherlands. The station and all services operating from it are run by Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the national Dutch train operating company. History 's-Hertogenbo ...

(1952) * Nijmegen railway station (1954) *

Rotterdam Centraal railway station Rotterdam Centraal railway station () is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, ...

(1950–1957) (demolished) * 20 ''Purfina'' petrol stations (1947–1963), the only surviving petrol station by van Ravesteyn

Notes and references

External links

*
Sybold van Ravestein
on Stationsweb {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravesteyn, Sybold Van Railway architects 1889 births 1983 deaths Artists from Rotterdam Delft University of Technology alumni 20th-century Dutch architects