The Gerrit Rietveld Route in Utrecht
Walking Through De Stijl in Utrecht
My friend and I visited Utrecht to follow the Gerrit Rietveld route and discover the legacy of this famous Dutch architect. Born here in 1888, he spent his entire life shaping the city. As a key member of De Stijl, or “The Style,” Rietveld supported this movement that avoided decoration in favor of simple forms with clean lines, right angles, and a limited palette of primary colors: red, blue, and yellow, along with black, white, and grey.
The route wound through the city, passing important sites from his life and career. One of the highlights was the Rietveld Schröder House (1924), a UNESCO World Heritage site. Rietveld designed the upper floor with sliding walls, letting the space change completely. A famous feature is a corner window that opens fully without a support pillar, blurring the line between inside and outside. Near the Schröder House, we saw the white, modernist apartment blocks on Erasmuslaan (1930 to 1934). These buildings show Rietveld’s move toward social housing with a more practical style.
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Another highlight was the house on Waldeck Pyrmontkade. In 1927, Rietveld renovated this traditional building, adding a flat roof that stood out from the surrounding architecture. We finished our tour at his furniture workshop on Adriaen van Ostadelaan, which he opened in 1917. In a nearby small park, we found a replica of his famous Red and Blue chair.
A hundred years may have passed, but Rietveld’s work still manages to look more contemporary than many structures being built today. Rietveld’s sharp lines and bold primary colors provide a perfect companion to Utrecht’s medieval stone, although architecturally those styles are paradoxes. Apparently, even in architecture, opposites attract!
Date
Monday, August 22, 2022
Distance
7.07 miles
Moving Time
3:29:11 hrs
Weather
71 °F, light breeze