Albert Frederik Aalbers was a Dutch architect who created elegant villas, hotels and office buildings in Bandung, Indonesia under Dutch colonial rule in the 1930s. He worked in the Netherlands between 1924-1930 and then migrated to the Dutch Indies after which he returned to the Netherlands in 1942 due to World War II and political circumstances following Indonesian independence. Aalbers' style was inspired by expressionist Frank Lloyd Wright.
Background
Albert Frederik Aalbers was born on 13 December 1897 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, he was the youngest son of Theo Aalbers and Johanna Buis. Between 1910 and 1918, Aalbers studied architecture at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts and Techniques. At that time Dutch architecture was highly influenced by the expressionist movement due to popular expressionist artists, including the painter Willem de Kooning who also studied in the same school. Several years later, Albert and his brother (Theo) established the Gebroeder Aalbers architecture office in Rotterdam. Their projects ranged from offices to villas. The famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, influenced their works; the Villa Dijkendam—owned by Albert Aalbers' future father-in-law's family— is one such example of a building inspired by Wright's works.
Education
Between 1910 and 1918, Aalbers studied architecture at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts and Techniques. . At that time Dutch architecture was highly influenced by the expressionist movement due to popular expressionist artists, including the painter Willem de Kooning who also studied in the same school.
Career
In 1923, Albert Aalbers and his brother, Theo, established the Gebroeder Aalbers architecture office in Rotterdam. Their projects ranged from offices to villas. In 1926 there was a difficult time for the Aalbers brother during which they filed for bankruptcy and closed down their office. Albert remained to try his luck again by opening an office in Hengelo, in the east of the Netherlands. In 1930 the Aalbers family moved to Bandung. Aalbers saw a good opportunity and he started to work as a freelance architect in the city. Later he and his friend, Rijk de Waal, opened a new firm, the Aalbers en De Waal. In 1946 he opened a new architecture office with the name of 'Aalbers en De Waal, Architecten, Amsterdam-Bandoeng'. He put 'Bandoeng' in the name as a wish that someday he would be able to return to Bandung.
Personality
Aalbers' style was inspired by expressionist Frank Lloyd Wright and modernist Le Corbusier. During his stay in Bandung, in a period when the city was dubbed the city of architecture laboratory, a number of his buildings were considered architectural masterpieces.
Connections
He married Anna Marie Philipina Lieuwen in 1928 and the couple migrated to the Dutch Indies. He has two daughters.