ARCHITECT'S

In 1924, Truus Schröder asked well-known Utrecht furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld to design a new house for her. A recently widowed mother of three, she wanted a dwelling completely attuned to her – and to her unconventional ideas about what a home should be. Having worked with Rietveld in the past, she knew his disdain for tradition. It was a match made in heaven. Schröder played an important role in the design process. She knew exactly what she wanted: simplicity and a space that freed rather than constrained her.Rietveld's ideal house was spacious, simple and functional. He came up with all kinds of clever solutions to achieve this. One such idea involved sliding walls on the first floor. By day, this was an open space, but in the evening, the Schröder family could split it up into three separate rooms. There was one room for the daughters, another for the son, and a living room with a table and stove, giving everyone some privacy. (© Rietveld Schroder Huis Museum)

COLLECTION

DFW~NLF