Herman Hendrik Baanders

Who was Herman Hendrik Baanders?

Herman Hendrik Baanders, also known as Hermanus Hendrikus Baanders and H.H. Baanders, was a Dutch architect who was primarily active in Amsterdam.

Like many other architects around the fin de siècle, Baanders had an eclectic and historicizing style of architecture. For instance, he would use a traditional Dutch facade such as a neck-gable, but combine it with Jugendstil elements that were considered very new and modern at that time. Despite these Jugendstil elements, his work was grounded in the Neo-Renaissance of the 19th Century, characterized by a high level of detail.

His most prestigious design was the Astoria building, a Jugendstil office building at Keizersgracht 174-176 in Amsterdam, built as the headquarters of the Eerste Hollandsche Levensverzekerings Bank insurance company. With six floors and a maximum height of 37 metres, the Astoria building was one of the first office towers in the Netherlands. Baanders designed this building together with Gerrit van Arkel. In 2001 it gained rijksmonument status. Another design by Baanders and Van Arkel, a double house at Korte Marnixkade 4, has rijksmonument status as well.