
Former Shell Building - The Hague, NL
Posted by:
hykesj
N 52° 05.600 E 004° 19.277
31U E 590516 N 5772242
Office building designed by J. J. P. Oud on a 1955 postage stamp, one of a set of five semipostal issues from the Netherlands featuring significant works of architecture.
Waymark Code: WM196D7
Location: Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Date Posted: 12/06/2023
Views: 3
In the late 1930s, Bataafsche Import Maatschappij (BIM), marketer of Royal Dutch Shell petroleum products, was in need of additional office space in The Hague. Noted Dutch architect Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud won the commission for the new office building. Construction began in 1938 but wasn’t completed until 1946 due to delays caused by World War II.
The Shell building, as it has come to be known in architectural circles, is J. J. P. Oud’s most famous work, or most infamous, depending on your point of view. Oud was associated with the Modernist movement but apparently committed the unpardonable sin of adding ornamentation to the exterior and interior (among other things). For this, his design was ridiculed by the likes of Philip Johnson and other prominent architects at the time for reverting back to more traditional forms. But Oud thought it a step forward and today, some critics consider it one of the first post-Modernist buildings.
Though still referred to as the Shell building, its current occupant is Ernst & Young - you can see their logo at the top of the building above the main entrance. It has been a Dutch National Monument since 1993.
Stamp Issuing Country: Netherlands
 Date of Issue: 25-Apr-1955
 Denomination: 25c + 8c
 Color: chocolate
 Stamp Type: Single Stamp
 Relevant Web Site: Not listed

|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.
You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|