The Rietveld Schröder House (Dutch: Rietveld Schröderhuis), located at Prins Hendriklaan 50 in Utrecht, is one of the most important examples of modernist architecture and the only fully realised building in the De Stijl style. It was designed in 1924 by the Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld, commissioned by Mrs Truus Schröder-Schräder, who lived there with her three children. To this day, the house is considered a manifesto of modern architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Mrs Truus Schröder-Schräder wanted a house that was free of traditional architectural and social conventions. She wanted an open space without unnecessary walls that would allow for free interior design and foster a modern lifestyle. Gerrit Rietveld, working closely with Mrs Schröder, created a house design that became a symbol of progressive ideas and a reflection of the philosophy of the De Stijl movement.
The Schröder house in 1963. Photo: Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Rietveld Schröder House represents a radical departure from traditional architecture in both exterior and interior form. The two-storey building is located at the end of a row of houses, but does not relate stylistically to the neighbouring buildings. The façade of the house is a composition of planes and lines that appear to move and penetrate, creating a dynamic image. The use of primary colours – white, black and red, yellow and blue – emphasises the plasticity of the form and is characteristic of the De Stijl aesthetic.
The interior of the house has been designed as a flexible space, especially on the upper floor. The ground floor houses the kitchen and three rooms arranged around a central staircase. In contrast, the first floor, originally designed as an open space, can be divided using a system of sliding and rotating panels. This allows the interior to be freely arranged according to the needs of the occupants, creating bedrooms, a living room or work space.
The facades of the house are a collage of planes and lines of different colours and textures. These elements are deliberately separated from each other, giving the building a light and dynamic feel. Windows and doors are designed to open at 90 degrees, further blurring the boundaries between inside and outside. The use of materials such as brick, render and timber, as well as steel girders, was dictated by both aesthetic and practical considerations.
Rietveld Schröder’s house is considered a manifesto of the De Stijl movement in architecture. Its innovation lies in its departure from traditional forms and the introduction of new thinking about living space. In 2000, the building was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, highlighting its global significance for the development of modernist architecture. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee justified the inscription by emphasising the purity of the ideas and concepts developed by the De Stijl movement, which found full expression in this house. The Rietveld Schröder House occupies a key place in architectural history as an example of human creative genius.
After the death of Mrs Truus Schröder-Schräder in 1985, the house was converted into a museum, managed by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Today it is open to the public, who can learn not only about the architecture of the building, but also about the ideas that guided its creators. The interiors have retained the original furnishings and layout, allowing visitors to fully experience the space designed by Rietveld. The Rietveld Schröder House had a significant influence on 20th century architecture. His innovative spatial and formal solutions inspired many architects around the world. One example is the Polish architect Stanisław Brukalski, who, after visiting Rietveld’s house, designed his own house in Warsaw in 1929, referring to the ideas of De Stijl.
Source: architectu.pl, amazinteriors.com
Read also: Modernism | Villas and residences | The Netherlands | Interesting facts | Featured | whiteMAD on Instagram
