The second architect behind it all

Bernard Bijvoet (1889-1979)

Before teaming up with Chareau, Bernard Bijvoet (1889-1979), Dutch architect, established himself in Paris along with his fellow student Johannes Duiker with their crowning achievement the Grand Hotel Gooiland in Hilversum, in 1936. The site was completed after Duiker's untimely death in 1935, and constructed in the French style including a Grand Theatre designed by Bijvoet at the rear of the building.

Grand Hotel Gooiland 

Unfortunately when war broke out, Bijvoet was left to fled with his family to the Dordogne region, and his home became a clandestine address for the French Resistance, the marquis. Returning to the Netherlands after liberation, Bijvoet settled in Haarlem to set up a partnership with Gerard Holt, a young architect, and together they managed the firm with projects such as cultural centres and auditoriums. Bijvoet also specialized himself in acoustics of theatre auditoriums, and was a member of the Netherlands Advisory Board on Theatre Construction, later receiving a Dutch royal decoration and title as Officer in the order of Orange Nassau.

City theatre, Keizer Karelplein, in the Netherlands by Bijvoet and Holt

His best known work with Chareau was the golf clubhouse for the Grand Hôtel de Beauvallon in 1929, which was situated on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, and La Maison de Verre in 1931.

The golf clubhouse for the Grand Hotel de Beauvallon

Stephanie Wong