Rietveld Schröderhuis (Rietveld Schröder House)
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder, designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, and built in 1924. This small family house, with its interior, the flexible spatial arrangement, and the visual and formal qualities, was a manifesto of the ideals of the De Stijl group of artists and architects in the Netherlands in the 1920s, and has since been considered one of the icons of the Modern Movement in architecture.
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder, designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, and built in 1924. This small family house, with its interior, the flexible spatial arrangement, and the visual and formal qualities, was a manifesto of the ideals of the De Stijl group of artists and architects in the Netherlands in the 1920s, and has since been considered one of the icons of the Modern Movement in architecture.
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
The Rietveld Schröderhuis in Utrecht was commissioned by Ms Truus Schröder-Schräder, designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, and built in 1924. This small one-family house, with its flexible interior spatial arrangement, and visual and formal qualities, was a manifesto of the ideals of the De Stijl group of artists and architects in the Netherlands in the 1920s, and has since been considered one of the icons of the Modern Movement in architecture.
The house is in many ways unique. It is the only building of its type in Rietveld’s output, and it also differs from other significant buildings of the early modern movement, such as the Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier or the Villa Tugendhat by Mies van der Rohe. The difference lies in particular in the treatment of architectural space and in the conception of the functions of the building. Many contemporary architects were deeply influenced by the Schröder house and this influence has endured up to the present.
The quality of the Rietveld Schröderhuis lies in its having produced a synthesis of the design concepts in modern architecture at a certain moment in time. Part of the quality of the house is the flexibility of its spatial arrangement, which allows gradual changes over time in accordance with changes in functions. At the same time the building has also many artistic merits, and its visual image has strongly influenced building design in the second half of the 20th century. The interiors and furniture are an integral part of its design and should be given due recognition.
The Rietveld Schröderhuis was located on the edge of the city of Utrecht close to the countryside, at the end of a 20th century row of houses. It was built against the wall of the adjacent brick house. The area beyond the house remained undeveloped, because it contained 19th century Dutch defence lines, which were still in use at the time.
Criterion (i): The Rietveld Schröderhuis in Utrecht is an icon of the Modern Movement in architecture and an outstanding expression of human creative genius in its purity of ideas and concepts as developed by the De Stijl movement.
Criterion (ii): With its radical approach to design and the use of space, the Rietveld Schröderhuis occupies a seminal position in the development of architecture in the modern age.
Integrity
The entire Rietveld Schröderhuis is a museum. The house was carefully restored, and is now in excellent condition and under regular care of the Centraal Museum of Utrecht. The location of the house in its original setting – at the end of a row of houses in a small park – is unchanged. Since it was built, however, the context of the house has changed somewhat. Ten years after its construction, the city of Utrecht expanded onto the open land beyond the house, which was built upon. In the 1960s, a viaduct was constructed to accommodate the elevated route of the Waterlinieweg motorway near the house. After that, there were no further substantial changes to the surroundings.
Authenticity
The Rietveld Schröderhuis was used as a private house for sixty years and some changes were made according to the needs of its evolving use. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Rietveld Schröderhuis was restored to its original condition of the 1920s by Bertus Mulder, one of Rietveld’s assistants. The building has maintained the authenticity of its design concept and structure. The restorations of the 1970s and 1980s were done with great care, making every effort to preserve what was possible. All the original furniture was restored and positioned as in the 1920s. Missing objects were remade on the basis of records and existing evidence. Unfortunately, owing to the poor condition of some materials, it was necessary to replace the rendering as well as various fittings. The Outstanding Universal Value of this building lies in its being a realization of design concepts and ideas and a manifesto of the De Stijl movement, the restoration of the interiors to their 1920s aspect is justified in this case. In its essence, the Rietveld Schröderhuis stands the test of authenticity in relation to all required parameters.
Protection and management requirements
The Rietveld Schröderhuis is listed as a national heritage site under the 1988 Monuments and Historic Buildings Act [Monumentenwet 1988]. In the Municipality of Utrecht’s zoning plan, it is designated as serving “the purposes of the community”. The immediate surroundings (garden and park) are designated as “public greenspace”.
The house is managed and maintained by the Centraal Museum, Utrecht’s municipal museum, in consultation with the Rietveld Schröderhuis Foundation. The Municipality of Utrecht is responsible for the house’s preservation. With respect to the maintenance and management of the Rietveld Schröderhuis, the policy is set out in the Centraal Museum’s general long-range maintenance plan and the Rietveld Schröderhuis Conservation and Management Plan, which also describes the policy on visitors. The maximum number of visitors permitted to be in the house at the same time – under supervision – is 12. Given the current opening hours, that means that the house welcomes some 12,000 visitors a year.
The policy aims to maintain the situation as it was when management was transferred to the Centraal Museum, as described in the nomination dossier, and therefore to preserve the house’s Outstanding Universal Value. The information centre and ticket office, which also house the visitors’ centre, are in the adjacent building at Prins Hendriklaan 50.
The construction and finishing of the house are vulnerable. For this reason, the state of maintenance is permanently monitored and the maximum number of visitors is adapted accordingly to ensure a safe use of the building. There are frequent requests to receive larger groups and short guided tours. Such requests are seldom honoured, in order to protect the house’s condition and the quality of the information. Regular maintenance of the house, for example renewing paintwork according to the original colour scheme, takes place every five years.
Once finalised, the Management Plan shall aim to provide the best possible protection for the setting of the house, and will be updated regularly.
Long Description
With its radical approach to design and the use of space, the Rietveld is an icon of the Modern Movement in architecture and an outstanding expression of human creative genius in its purity of ideas and concepts as developed by the De Stijl movement. It occupies a seminal position in the development of architecture in the modern age.
It was commissioned by Mrs Truus Schröder-Schräder, designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1965), and built in 1924. Mrs Schröder lived in the house for some 60 years, first with her children, then in the company of Rietveld, and finally alone. In the early years, until 1932, Rietveld kept a studio in the house; from 1958, after his wife died, he came to live there until his death. During this long period some changes were made in the interior, resulting partly from the needs of the inhabitants, partly from the experimental character of the building itself. The building is now a museum.
The Rietveld Schröder House is the manifesto of the De Stijl, an influential group of artists and architects who took their name from a periodical founded in 1917. The periodical was devoted to modern neo-Plasticism, and it became the most influential voice for the ideals of modern art and architecture in the Netherlands. It invited contributions from the foremost artists of the time.
After the destruction wrought in the First World War, members of the group sought for the universal, as the individual was losing its significance. Abstraction, precision, geometry, striving towards artistic purity and austerity, studying the laws of nature to arrive at what really is, determined the thoughts and creations of De Stijl. The members of the group first expressed their ideas mainly in paintings, then in furniture and architecture. The Schröder House was the first declaration of these ideas on a large scale, thus becoming the architectural manifestation of the group. The range of ideas generated by the group reached Germany, influencing the establishment of the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919.
The Schröder House was built on the edge of the city of Utrecht close to the countryside, at the end of a 19th-century row of houses. The design and building of the house took place simultaneously. The few existing drawings and the scale model show that the design evolved from a fairly close block to an open transparent composition of evenly matched spaces composed of independent planes. Much of the design was determined on the construction site, as were the colours. The building was conceived as a manifesto from the beginning; Mrs Schröder and Rietveld commissioned a full photographic documentation of the architecture. Their intention was to make sure the new approach to architecture and living were presented to reflect their intended ideas.
In this house the concept of space is no longer elaborated as defined within a cube. As with his early chairs, Rietveld gave a new spatial meaning to the straight lines and rectangular planes of the various architectural and structural elements, slabs, posts and beams, which were composed in a balanced ensemble. At the same time, each element was given autonomy while emphasizing the fluidity and continuity of space. Although the building has obvious artistic value, Rietveld gave much attention to functionality.
The house has two floors, developing around a spiral staircase in the centre. The main structure consists of reinforced concrete slabs and steel profiles. It is painted in basic colours, red, blue, yellow, black and white, as well as shades of grey (often referred to Mondriaan's paintings). Unlike a traditional Dutch house, where rooms are accessible through corridors, this house was conceived by Rietveld in a flexible manner. There is no hierarchical arrangement of rooms in the floor plan. The upper floor is one open space around the staircase. It can be divided into three bedrooms and a sitting room by sliding panels. On the ground floor Rietveld was forced to meet Dutch regulations in order to acquire a building permit. There five rooms are grouped around a small hall. The interrelation of the rooms can be sensed by the fanlights above the doors and by the recessed and staggered inner walls.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was commissioned by Mrs Truus Schröder-Schräder (1889-1985), designed by the architect Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1965) and built in 1924. Mrs Schröder lived in the house for some 60 years, first with her children, then in the company of Rietveld, and finally alone. During this long period some changes were made in the interior, resulting partly from the needs of the inhabitants, partly from the experimental character of the building itself. In the 1970s and 1980s, the building underwent restoration, re-establishing its initial form in the 1920s. The building is now a museum.
The Rietveld Schröder House can be seen as the manifesto of the De Stijl, an influential group of artists and architects who took their name from a periodical founded in 1917 by Theo van Doesburg (C E M Kupper, 1883-1931). His widow published the last issue in 1932. The periodical was devoted to modern Neo-Plasticism, and it became the most influential voice for the ideals of modern art and architecture in the Netherlands. It invited contributions from the foremost artists of the time, including Hans Arp, Vilmos Huszar, and Piet Mondrian (Mondriaan), and architects C van Eesteren, J J P Oud, and Gerrit Rietveld. Some of the roots of De Stijl can be found in Frank Lloyd Wright's influence on architecture in the Netherlands in the early 1900s. The De Stijl group stressed "total abstraction" with respect to what was called "Neo-Plasticism."
After the destruction wrought in World War I, the members of the group sought for the universal, as the individual was losing its significance. Abstraction, precision, geometry, striving towards artistic purity and austerity, studying the laws of nature to arrive at what really is, determined the thoughts and creations of De Stijl. The members of the group first expressed their ideas mainly in paintings, then in furniture and architecture; Rietveld's furniture has been referred to as "De Stijl sculptures." The Schröder House was the first declaration of these ideas in a large scale, thus becoming the architectural manifestation of the group. The range of ideas generated by the group reached Germany, influencing the establishment of the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919.
The Schröder House (Prins Hendriklaan 50a) was located on the edge of the city of Utrecht close to the countryside, at the end of a 19th century row of houses. It was built against the wall of the adjacent brick house. The area beyond the house remained undeveloped, because it contained 19th century Dutch defence lines, which were still in use at the time. The design and building of the house took place simultaneously. The few existing drawings and the scale model show that the design evolved from a fairly close block to an open transparent composition of evenly matched spaces composed of independent planes. Much of the design was determined on the construction site. This was the case also of the colours, particularly the shades of grey, which were repainted several times to achieve the desired quality and tonalities. The building was conceived as a manifesto from the beginning; Mrs Schröder and Rietveld commissioned a full photographic documentation of the architecture. Their intention was to make sure the new approach to architecture and living were presented to reflect their intended ideas.
The house developed along with its use. Anything that did not suffice or no longer suited was changed, particularly regarding pieces of furniture but also some materials in the interior. After the children left home, there were more radical changes: for example, in 1936 the kitchen was moved from the ground floor close to Mrs Schröder's bedroom upstairs and the ground floor was often rented. There were many visitors from the beginning. Around 1935, in order to get some privacy, Mrs Schröder asked Rietveld to design a small room to be built on the roof; this was later removed. In the early years, until 1932, Rietveld kept a studio in the house; from 1958, after his wife died, he came to live there until his death. In 1972, Mrs Schröder established the Rietveld
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
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