Schroder house, 1925 - Present
End of the line
The schroder house located in the Netherlands was built by Gerrit Rietveld in 1925. The building is at the end of a set of row blocks. The house was the last house of the row on the block. This house was the only building designed in complete accordance with the De Stijl style which used primary colors. The house built was very unique and stood out in its surroundings. A widow commissioned Rietveld to build her a new house for her and her three children after her husband died. She wanted a smaller home that was more functionable. “ When her husband died in 1923 after a prolonged illness, she was unable to remain living in such a big house”. Mrs Schroder knew Rietveld before hiring him to build the now famous house that is the Schroder house in the netherlands. “She had confidence in Rietveld’s ability as he had already created a room for her in the house on Biltstraat so that she had her own space in such a huge place where she never felt at home.”. After the death of her husband she often felt alone in the big spaces of the house. She was very involved in the design of the building and worked closely with the architect to develop its idea. Mrs Schroder gave the architect only three criterias “The three criteria given by Mrs. Schroder about the rooms for her kids stated that a bed should be able to fit in two different positions, each room should have access to the water supply and drainage, and all should have a door to access the outdoors directly”. The architect took her request and added it to the list of what shapes the building. The Architect used a De Stijl art piece to influence the building. “The application of color in space was an intrinsic component of his research… he chose: red, blue and yellow or white, black and various shades of grey, were rarely used in a purely decorative sense. They support the role of the planes and lines in the spatial composition. Sometimes they serve a practical function as in the kitchen.” Primary colors were used and some walls were painted. Different color paints were used to differentiate between spaces. One example of how the colors come into play is that the front door is painted black. The front door is painted black because the architect knew it would most be used by the people in the house and did not want to get a color dirty. What separates the schroder house from that of any other is the radical approach to its design. Type of spaces found inside the building contributes to how unique it is. The building is made from reinforced concrete and steel. The glass on the windows are hinged and can only be opened ninety degrees. The architect installed sliding walls which allowed for the transformation of space. The sliding walls allows for the maximum use of a small space. The walls slide back during the day opening up the space for communal activities. At night the walls slide enclosing the open space which then changes the function of the space. The spaces in the room are multipurpose. During the day it opens and is the public spaces which at night becomes the bedrooms.
Sources:
Rietveld Schroder house by bertus Mulder and Ida Van Zijl
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