Schröder House: in Utrecht, De Stijl meets design and architecture

Those passing by 50 Prins Hendriklaan road in Utrecht, will definitely feel like they are in front of a three-dimensional version of one of Mondrian’s paintings. They won’t be much mistaken: what they are looking at is Schröder House, designed by the architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld, who together with Piet Mondrian was part of the De Stijl art movement.

“The Style”, or neoplasticism is that artistic form where abstractness, geometry and simplicity triumph; these are the main characteristics you need to remember when visiting Schröder House.

Rietveld designed it according to the specifications of the Schröder-Schräder widow and her three children; this resulted in an extraordinary home, full of space, light and personality. An architectural language made of orthogonal planes, which, in turn, form large open-plan spaces or divide them into new rooms, when large sliding panels are shut. Space is “alive”, bathed in natural light which comes from a multitude of windows.

However, the best interpretation of this overall extravagant structure can be summed up in an object placed at the centre of the home: the Red and Blue Chair, designed a few years earlier by Gerrit Rietveld himself, who in effect was first of all a furniture designer. Its simple silhouette results from assembling different planes together. What’s more, this piece can be viewed as an abstract sculpture complete with transparencies and primary colours combined with black: this design icon epitomizes the overall design of Schröder House.

Proof and confirmation that this is a special place, goes in the fact that Schröder House was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This house is not to be missed.

 

SCHRÖDER HOUSE
Prins Hendriklaan 50,
3583 EP Utrecht
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)30 2362310
http://centraalmuseum.nl/en/visit/locations/rietveld-schroder-house/

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