Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect associated with the De Stijl movement, known for his famous Red and Blue Chair and the Rietveld Schröder House, a UNESCO World Heritage site. While initially influenced by De Stijl's principles of simplicity and abstraction, Rietveld later transitioned to a more functionalist approach in architecture. His work profoundly impacted modern architecture, exemplifying the use of straight lines, asymmetry, and a limited color palette.

1. Presented by:
Avik Gupta
B.Arch III
0811005

2. Gerrit Reitveld (24 June 1888–26 June 1964)
Dutch furniture designer and architect
One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic
movement called De Stijl
famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the
Rietveld Schröder House, which is now
a UNESCO World Heritage Site

3. Son of a joiner
Began work as an apprentice to his father
Set up a business as a cabinet-maker
Designed his famous Red and Blue Chair in 1917

4. Became an architect in 1919
Got influenced by the “De Stijl” Movement and
became a member in the same year
Designed his first building, the Rietveld Schröder
House, in 1924

5. Gerrit Reitveld was a proponent of the “De Stijl”
Movement, which supported simplicity and
abstraction
However, in 1928, he broke off from the “De Stijl”, and
became a part of Nieuwe Zakelijkheid, a more
functionalist style of architecture

6. Dutch for "The Style", also known as neoplasticism
Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917

7. Ultimate simplicity and abstraction, both in
architecture and painting
Using only straight horizontal and vertical
lines, with square and rectangular
forms
Asymmmetry was combined
very strongly

8. Formal vocabulary limited to the primary
colours, red, yellow, and blue, and
the three primary values, black
white, and grey

9. Erasmuslaan 9, Utrecht:
White plastered walls and steel window frames
Face of the building is clad in glass and steel

10. The design of the housing block was inspired more by
the functionalist architectural movement around the
1930s than the De Stijl movement .

11. Metz & Co. in
The Hague,
Amsterdam

12. Muziekschool, Zeist

13. Early Career:
Rietveld Schröder House
Later Career:
Van Gogh Museum
The Gerrit Rietveld Academy

14. Built in 1924 in Utrecht
For Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three
children

15. The Idea:
To be designed preferably without walls
The De Stijl architecture

16. It constitutes both inside
and outside a radical break
with all architecture
before it
The two-story house is
situated at the end of a
terrace, but makes no
attempt to relate to its
neighbouring buildings

17. Ground Floor
Can be termed traditional
Ranged around a central staircase are kitchen and
three sit/bedrooms

18. Living Area Upstairs
Stated as being an attic to satisfy the fire regulations of
the planning authorities
Forms a large open zone
With a separate toilet and a bathroom

19. Rietveld wanted to leave the upper level as was
Mrs Schröder, however, felt that as living
space it should be usable in either form, open
or subdivided
This was achieved with a system of sliding and
revolving panels.

21. When entirely partitioned in, the living level
comprises three bedrooms, bathroom and living room.
A wide variety of possible permutations, each
providing its own spatial experience.

24. Facades
Collage of planes and lines
Components are purposely detached from, and seem
to glide past one another
Enabled the provision of
several balconies

25. Like Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair, each component
has its own form, position and color
Colors where chosen as to strengthen the plasticity of
the facades;
--Surfaces in white and shades
of grey
--Black window and
doorframes
--A number of linear elements
in primary colors

26. Importance Today
One of the best known examples of De Stijl-
architecture and arguably the only true De Stijl
building
In the year 2000 it was placed on the UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites

27. Features the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van
Gogh and his
contemporaries
Building
completed by
Rietveld's partners
J. van Dillen and
J. van Tricht after
his death in 1964

28. The first floor is designed to give an overview of the
main developments in Gogh’s oeuvre
The second floor houses changing presentations of
drawings and graphic art and
has a study area with computers where visitors can find
out more about Van Gogh

29. Museum Shops
Interior views

30. The Central Staircase System

31. Front Facade
Rear Facade

32. Parts of the rear facades are clad in glass and steel

33. New Addition
By Japanse Architect Kisho Kurokawa in 1999
It is an Exhibition Wing

34. A proponent of functionalistic architecture
Evident in his works – use of straight lines, planes and
asymmetry
Schroder House is a prime example of the principles
he followed in architecture i.e. simplicity and
functionality
Use of glass and steel in all of his buildings and thus,
the use of light was prominent