Hendrik Berlage was born in Amsterdam in 1856. After failing the entrance exam to artschool, he took architecture at the Zürich Institute of Technology under Gottfried Semper from 1875 until 1878. Afterwards he travelled extensively through Europe. In the 1880s he formed a Partnership in Holland with Theodore Sanders which produced a mixture of practical and utopian projects. From 1889 onwards he worked in his own practice. A published author, Berlage held memberships in various architectural societies including CIAM.

A visit Berlage made to the U.S. in 1911 greatly affected his architecture. He was particularly influenced by the organic, wood-based work of Henry Hobson Richardson, Louis H. Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Considered the "Father of Modern architecture" in the Netherlands and the intermediary between the Traditionalists and the Modernists, Berlage's theories inspired most Dutch Modernist groups including De Stijl, the Amsterdam School and the New Objectivists. His most famous work is the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. This building is considered to be the beginning of modern architecture in the Netherlands, and although representing only a phase in Berlage's career, it remains a major influences until well into the 1950's. He received the British Royal Gold Medal in 1932.