From 15 February 2024 through 29 June 2025, Amsterdam School Museum De Dageraad presents a new exhibition with a starring role for brick. The exhibition, which was scheduled to end on 17 November 2024, was extended due to its success.
Brick is an ancient building material that is still very popular today. The architects of the Amsterdam School, such as Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer, were fascinated by the unprecedented possibilities of using brick to design imaginative buildings. They found an entirely unique way to showcase the expressive power of brick. The De Dageraad housing complex that houses the museum is a great example of this.
In this exhibition, we follow the story of the brick: from clay to artwork. The journey of the brick starts in the area where the clay is extracted. The colour and size depend on this and then in turn have a lot of influence on the final result of the structure. The firing technique, mortar and masonry bonds also create special outcomes with a character all their own. What choices the Amsterdam School architects made in these matters is told in this exhibition.
Remarkably, brick was not only used by the Amsterdam School architects to create structures, but also real works of art. These sculptures were often part of a building. Later, other artists took inspiration from them and we still see brick artworks today. In this exhibition, you will learn more about the history of brick, the different techniques and masonry bonds and the use of brick in De Dageraad, among others. The exhibition can be seen at Museum De Dageraad until 17 November 2024.
About Museum De Dageraad
All about the Amsterdam School in Plan Zuid
Behind the undulating facade of Amsterdam School Museum De Dageraad, part of Museum Het Schip, you will find information on the art and architecture of the Amsterdam School. The museum still carries the name that originally accompanied the building. This location focuses specifically on the famous Plan Zuid, designed by architect H.P. Berlage at the beginning of the last century.
