1. Gerrit Rietveld 1888-1964 “We didn't avoid older styles because they were ugly, or because we couldn't reproduce them, but because our own times demanded their own form, I mean, their own manifestation. It was of course extremely difficult to achieve all this in spite of the building regulations and that's why the interior of the downstairs part of the house is somewhat traditional, I mean with fixed walls. But upstairs we simply called it an 'attic' and that's where we actually made the house we wanted.” Gerrit Rietveld speaking about the Schröder House

2. The chronological context of Rietveld’s architecture Chronological context in Architecture - Modernism to Postmodernism - 1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s First generation modernists Second generation modernists Third generation modernists The pioneers of modernism. They each treated form, space, structure, materials and ornament in novel ways. These were the architects of ‘ high modernism ’ - the universal International Style- as well as the fashionable Art Deco period. These were the architects of Postmodernism. They reacted against the orthodoxy of high modernism. Peter Behrens - BerlinWalter GropiusFrank Gehry Auguste Perret - ParisLe CorbusierPhilip Johnson C. R. Mackintosh - GlasgowMies van der RoheCharles Moore Otto Wagner - ViennaGerrit RietveldI. M. Pei Adolf Loos - ViennaWilliam Van AllenMichael Greaves Louis Sullivan - ChicagoNapier Art Deco architectsLouis Kahn Frank Lloyd Wright - Chicago and mid-western states of USARobert Venturi

3. The context of his architecture Geographical context: Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch furniture maker, architect and designer based in Utrecht, Holland. Utrecht

4. Context and the De Stijl Movement Historical context: Gerrit Rietveld was a pioneer of the International Style of modernist architecture. Through his furniture and architecture he became one of the most influential designers of the 20 th century. His most significant building is the Schröder House in Utrecht, Holland constructed in 1924. Rietveld was a second generation modernist and a contemporary of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. Rietveld was a founding member of the Dutch De Stijl movement. His designs were influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and the abstract expressionist paintings of Mondrian. Rietveld and the De Stijl group had a significant influence on the Bauhaus and the early work of Mies van der Rohe. Click here to find out what the De Stijl movement was and to answer the following:here 1. 1.What does the term ‘De Stijl’ mean, and how did the name come into use? 2. 2.List FOUR stylistic features of De Stijl design. 3. 3.Name the three artists central to the De Stijl movement. 4. 4.When did the De Stijl movement enjoy its most success? Create your ownCreate your own De Stijl painting in the style of Piet Mondrian.

5. The Schröder House, Utrecht, Holland, 1924 “No one had ever looked at this little lane before this house was built here. There was a dirty crumbling wall with weeds growing in front of it… It was a deserted place, where anyone who wanted to pee just did it against this wall. It was a real piece of no-man's land. And we said, 'Yes, this is just right, let's build it here.' And we took this plot of ground and made it into a place with a reality of its own…and that's always been my main aim: to give to a yet unformed space, a certain meaning.” Gerrit Rietveld

6. The Schröder House, Utrecht, Holland, 1924 Visit the house here to answer these questions abouthere this building’s context and function: 1. 1.Describe the circumstance in which Rietveld was commissioned to design the house. 2. 2.What evidence once existed of a personal relationship between the client, Mrs Schröder- Schräder and the architect Gerrit Rietveld? 3. 3.List THREE functions of the lower level of the house and TWO functions of the upper level of the house. 4. 4.Describe TWO ways space is treated in a modernist way in the upper level of the house. 5. 5.Gerrit Rietveld was impressed with the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. See if you can identify THREE Wright influences in the design of this house. 6. 6.Describe the colour palette of this house and identify from the six images in the linked webpage SIX specific features of the house that are different in colour or shade of colour. 7. 7.Explain TWO ways this house exemplifies the concept of ‘functionalist’ architecture.

7. Plan of the Schröder House interiors Ground floor plan. Upper level floor plan.

8. Stylistic features of the Schröder House - exterior The building appears as if a conceived as a three dimensional Mondrian painting (far left, centre) or the realisation of Theo van Doesburg’s neoplastic designs (far left top). Black and primary-coloured accents compliment the white and grey shades of the apparently ‘floating’ planar walls. Horizontal planes cantilever out from the inner core of the building. Interior space flows out via large windows and doors to patios and balconies, while the views of the surrounding countryside are admitted. Asymmetrical facades consisting of abstracted three-dimensional arrangements of rendered brick, glass and concrete slabs that abut, overlap, intersect and hover in space. No applied ornament.

9. Stylistic features of the Schröder House - interior Watch this short video of the interior of the Schröder House.video Although the commentary is in Dutch, the visual information is very useful. It shows numerous stylistic and functionalist features of the house, including: the intercom system for visitors the automated window for 2 litre milk deliveries the central stairwell the centripetal movement of interior space, and the way it unfolds, dissolves, transforms and escapes via corner windows and balconies. the fold-away partitions of the children’s bedrooms the upstairs folding partition that defines the passage- way, doorway and interior bathroom walls the coloured floor sections and built-in furniture the naked central heating radiators that feature the only curves in the entire house the linear and three-dimensional planar aesthetic of the entire environment.

10. Examples of De Stijl design by Rietveld Above left: Berlin Chair, 1923 Above centre: High-back Chair, 1919 Above right: Red Blue Chair, 1918 Left: Hanging lamp, 1920 Right: Side table, 1923.