Sybold van Ravesteyn – Architect voor de eeuwigheid

Sybold van Ravesteyn (1889-1983) is the man with the dubious honour of being the most ‘demolished’ architect in the Netherlands. In photographs he always looks very respectable – not someone you would associate with flourishes and certainly not with a flamboyant lifestyle. He has designed many functional buildings, including Rotterdam’s Central Station, that will be fundamentally renewed in the coming years. But he is best known for the Kunstmin in Dordrecht and Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam. His work still evokes debate; some regard him as a nonconformist, whereas others think his work is decorative.