Jan Frederik Staal

[1] His first realizations in this vein were the villa in the Park Meerwijk in Bergen (1917–18); the central flower markets in Aalsmeer; a 12-story "skyscraper" in Amsterdam; the Dutch pavilion at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris (the 1925 exposition which later gave us the name "Art Deco"); the new headquarters of the newspaper De Telegraaf on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam (with G.J.

Towards the end of his career Staal eventually evolved into a disciple of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity, or the International Style), a development that can be seen in his housing blocks constructed in the Apollolaan, Beethovenstraat, Corellistraat and Bachstraat sections of Amsterdam.

His buildings on the Apollolaan/Beethovenstraat are particularly characteristic of his turn towards the New Objectivity with their large, tight bay windows, as are the single-family houses he designed on the even-numbered side of the Corellistraat.

For a number of years he served as a board member of the Dutch professional society of architects Architecture et Amicitia, which from 1914 onwards held its meetings in a bank building on the Herengracht in Amsterdam that Staal had designed.

His career flourished as a result of these contacts, including the major figures in the Amsterdam School, such as Hendrik T. Wijdeveld, Michel de Klerk, and Piet Kramer.

[3] From 1936 until his death he was married to the architect and designer Margaret Staal-Kropholler (1891–1966), with whom he had a relationship for much longer and who was initially his assistant.