Although he was born in 1914 in Amsterdam, Herman Haan grew up in Winschoten, a small village in the north of the Netherlands. In 1920 his father became director of the Verenigde Oost-Groningse Steenfabrieken, a brick manufacturer. His wild temper emerged in secondary school, when he attended very different kinds of institutes varying from technical schools to high level HBS, without finishing even one. >>

Biography born in Amsterdam.   1914   first trip to Morocco.   1929   first job in the office of Reitsma as technical draughtsman.   1932   started his first office in Winschoten.   1935   moved to Rotterdam and started to study architecture at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture.   1940   married Hansje Fischer and moved to Boompjes Avenue.   1948   4000 km Dogon expedition with Corneille, Rietveld, Aldo and Henny van Eyck.   1951   lecture at the Amsterdam Academy on the Tellem expeditions.   1956   CIAM meeting in Otterlo and tutor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm.   1958   foundation of Atelier Aa.   1967   suspension of Atelier Aa and retirement of Herman Haan.   1975   died in Rotterdam.   1996