Studio-House, (Meudon, France), 1930, De Stijl

Original Model of Home

Theo Van Doesburg is best known as the founder of De Stijl, which was an artistic movement focused on the use of strict geometry in the horizontal and vertical axes. Neo-plasticism was the term coined for the abstract art practised within the circle of artists and architects of the De Stijl Movement.  Van Doesburg eventually designed his own live in studio-house. The Design consisting of simple primary colors and orthogonal elements its pleasing to the eye. Doesburg was not an Architect at the time and was assisted by a  draftsman who drew the construction documents with no design input. Van Doesburg designed every aspect of the home, including the windows, frames, doors, staircases, colors of the floors and stained glass window. The concept of two cubes which interlock was used, one being the studio, and the other being the living spaces. The front of the home is part of the “Residential Cube” is made up of a combination of vertical and horizontal planes. There is a diagonal staircase which is hidden by an orthogonal wall and is complimented by a canopy above the door into the home. The only relief of the colorless facade is the exterior doors which are primary colors red, blue, and yellow. The rear facade of the building is part of the “Studio Cube” which is pulled out to cover a terrace below. The rear garden is seen by two large steel framed windows.

  The interior of the building on the ground floor of both the studio and residential volumes features a double loaded circulation with rooms on either side. A music room, bathroom, shower (converted from a garage), kitchen, two bedrooms, and a library with fireplace occupy the ground floor. The library and music room have walls which pivot to cut off the studio from the circulation and create a small space perpendicular to the corridor. The terrace on the ground floor is between the kitchen and the garden. Access to the now shower space is via the corridor on the ground floor. The studio has two connecting stairs, one in concrete which connects to the ground floor and one in steel which leads up to a platform with a door out to the southern terrace. The studio on the north side of the building has several meter high windows overlooking the garden. Doesburg not only designed almost everything in the home he also controls its placement and arrangements. The kitchen, studio, and music room all have fixed grey concrete tables. Tiled floors in the bathroom, kitchen, and library consist of different patterns with different colors. The stained glass skylight in the library closely resembles paintings of Doesburg’s with only the use of thin black orthogonal lines and primary colors. Even though the interior is mostly grey, it is incorporated into his way of thinking “Without colour, architecture is without expression”; he does this by using different shades of grey.

    Unfortunately Theo never saw the home fully completed with furnishings as well as the paintwork finished as he died soon after construction completed in 1930. After the premature death of Theo, his wife Nelly continued to live in the home until her passing in 1975. The home was then willed to Nelly’s niece who respected her wishes and donated the property to the Dutch State. The home continues to be used by artists, and designers alike through the Van Doesburg House Foundation. Over 30 People have lived and worked in the home since 1975 when Nelly passed away. All of which fall under the design areas which the Doesburg’s loved; design, the visual arts, literature, the performing arts, and of course Architecture.

Bibliography:

http://vandoesburghuis.com/en/interior/

Doesburg, Theo van and Els Hoek. Theo Van Doesburg : Oeuvre Catalogue. Utrecht : Central
Museum ;, 2000., 2000.