HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE IV

Module 1(h)
History of Architecture IV
Faculty - Ar. Laxmi Menon
Assistant Professor
 De Stijl Movement
• De Stijl Dutch for "The Style", also known as Neoplasticism, was a
Dutch art movement founded in 1917 in Leiden.
• De Stijl consisted of artists and architects. In a more narrow sense, the
term De Stijl is used to refer to a body of work from 1917 to 1931
founded in the Netherlands.
• Proponents of De Stijl advocated pure abstraction and universality by a
reduction to the essentials of form and colour; they simplified visual
compositions to vertical and horizontal, using only black, white and
primary colors. Rejected the prewar decorative trends like art nouveau
and pushed cubism to new extremes.
• De Stijl is also the name of a journal that was published by the Dutch
painter, designer, writer, and critic Theo van Doesburg that served to
propagate the group's theories.
• Along with van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the
painters Piet Mondrian, Vilmos Huszár, Bart van der Leck, and the
architects Gerrit Rietveld, Robert van 't Hoff, and J. J. P. Oud.
• De Stijl stands out because its aspirations were as social as they
were aesthetic
• The ‘De Stijl’ way of presentation was more calmer, more structured
and disciplined.
• It had powerful components like architecture, sculpture and typography
which allowed the style to become a lot more commercial.
• Theo Van Doesburg alphabet has become the most influential of all
that were produced through the De Stijl. A Sans-serif modular alphabet
constructed entirely of evenly weighted strokes. Each character is
based upon a square.
• The harmony and order was established through a reduction of
elements to pure geometric forms and primary colors.
• According to Theo van Doesburg in the introduction of the
magazine De Stijl 1917 no.1, the "De Stijl"-movement was a reaction
to the "Modern Baroque" of the Amsterdam School movement (Dutch
expressionist architecture) with the magazine Wendingen.
• The De Stijl movement posited the fundamental principle of the
geometry of the straight line, the square, and the rectangle, combined
with a strong asymmetrically; the predominant use of pure primary
colors with black and white; and the relationship between positive and
negative elements in an arrangement of non-objective forms and
lines.
• Furthermore, their formal vocabulary
was limited to the primary colours,
red, yellow, and blue, and the three
primary values, black, white, and grey.
• In many of the group's three-
dimensional works, vertical and
horizontal lines are positioned in
layers or planes that do not
intersect, thereby allowing each
element to exist independently
and unobstructed by other
elements. This feature can be
found in the Rietveld Schröder
House and the Red and Blue
Chair.
• It did not follow the general
guidelines of an "-ism"
(e.g., Cubism, Futurism, Surrealis
m), nor did it adhere to the
principles of art schools like the
Bauhaus; it was a collective
project, a joint enterprise.
 Theo Van Doesburg
• A Dutch Artist who practiced painting,
writing, poetry and architecture
• Founder and leader of De Stijl Movement
• Complete abstraction of reality in
painting.
• Promoted De Stijl Movement across
Europe.

1883 - 1931

Composition VII, 1917 Counter Composition V

 Strasbourg’s Place Kléber,
the Café L’Aubette
• Designed by Theo van Doesburg, one of the movement’s founders
and leading lights, the Aubette’s minimalist, geometric aesthetic was
heavily influenced by the work of contemporary artists such as Piet
Mondrian.
• In designing the café’s interiors, Van Doesburg sought to do more than
simply place viewers before a painting; he wanted to envelop them in
it.
 Piet Mondrian
• A Dutch Painter and a contributor to De
Stijl movement.
• He evolved a non representational form
which he termed Neo plasticism. This
consisted of white ground, upon which he
painted a grid of vertical and horizontal
black lines and the three primary colors.
• Believed that 3D world was deceptive 1872 - 1944
and De Stijl offered a simplified meaning
of the world at its basic level.

Broadway Boogie Woogie Victory Boogie Woogie Composition,1916

 Gerrit Rietveld
• Dutch Furniture Designer and architect.
• One of the principle members of De Stijl
movement.
• Famous for his red and blue chair design.
• The chair was designed for the Rietveld Schröder
House built in 1924 which is a UNESCO world
heritage site.

1888 - 1964

Chair Side table Wheelbarrow

Rietveld Schröder House
 Characteristics
• Flat roof, asymmetry, geometric forms, white or gray walls with
details highlighted by primary colors.
• Houses for the individuals are most important.
• Compositions generally emphasizes the separation of planes,
the application of primary colors, and the spatial relationships
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 distintly different from other
structures.
 FURNITURE
• 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.