DE STIJL

Ar. S.H.R.Jawahar Benazir

Assistant Professor
School of Architecture & Interior Design
SRM University
BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM
 2
• De Stijl, or The Style, is an art
and design movement founded in
Holland by painters and architects
around 1917.
• The movement strives to express
universal concepts through
elimination, reduction,
abstraction, simplification, and a
dynamic asymmetrical balance
of rectangles, planes, verticals,
horizontals, the primary colors,
and black, white, and gray.
• Designers formulate a new language and vocabulary for architecture.
• To do this, they take the traditional house apart, analyze it like an object, abstract
it to eliminate traditional references, and then reassemble it in a new way.
• The new form emphasizes the cube. It is not a solid box, but instead opens up
from outside to inside with solid and void relationships established through flat
planes.

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL

 3

Henny House, Robert Vant Hoff

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL

 4

Schroder House
BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 5

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Flat roof, asymmetry, geometric forms, white or gray walls with details
highlighted by primary colors.

• Houses for individuals are the most important.

• Compositions generally emphasize the separation of planes, the application of

primary colors, and the spatial relationship of solids to voids.

• Rectangular shapes define the geometric repetition of windows, doors, and

blocks of color.

• Window sizes vary on an individual building from large to small. They may be
arranged in patterns or one unit on a large wall.

• Flat roofs are typical, and distinctly different from other structures.

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL

 6

Interior of the Schroder House

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL

 7

Interior view of the Schroder House

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 8

FURNITURE

• Furniture and decorative arts are conceived

as one with the architecture and interior
design.
• Designers similarly emphasize structure,
construction, proportion, and the balance
between solid and void relationships.
• They carefully place individual parts to
develop visual balance and harmony so that
all parts are appreciated alone as well as in
context with the whole furniture piece.
• Chairs and tables are the most important
conveyors of concepts.
• Furniture complements the architectonic
character of an interior through its emphasis
on straight lines, rectangular planes, and
geometric forms. The Red & Blue Chair
BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 9

The Red & Blue Chair, side Table & Bed

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 10

Zig Zag Chair Crate Chair by Rietvald

Pendant Light
by Rietvaald
BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 11

Rietvald Sideboard
BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 12

SYMBOLS & MOTIFS DECORATIVE ARTS

There are no decorative motifs in
De Stijl design. Instead, beauty
evolves from simple, unadorned
surfaces arranged in geometric
relationships and from construction
detailing.
Decorative arts are limited in De
Stijl houses. Artwork is prohibited
because the house itself is a piece
of art. Few designers create
decorative arts.

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL

 13

Interior of a Café showing Decorative Art

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL
 14

Decorative Art Painting

Café showing Decorative Art

BAUHAUS TO POST MODERNISM – DE STIJL