De Stijl

Concurrently with Constructivism, De Stijl was going strong in the Netherlands. The manifesto was one of
the earliest to contain the idea of form follows function,which was to be defining ideal in the Bauhaus not 2 years later. The designers wanted to create functional good designs which could still be considered appealing to look at.

It all started in 1917 when a group of Dutch architects, designers and artists released a journal entitled De Stijl. This magazine quickly became something similar to a modern day blog as it became a forum for art and design debates, constantly gaining new followers. This magazine featured the works of all the avant-garde movements which were popular at the time namely the Russian Constructivists, the Italian Futurists, and the Dadaists.

De Stijl was aimed at trying to find a unity in the arts and a quest for harmony and order through the use of a universal language of form. They wanted to reject all form of representation of nature and wanted to create a language of abstracted cubism which Piet Mondrian liked to call Neo Plasticism. They believed that this harmony which they sought would bring enlightenment to humanity.







They abstracted the space by using strongly coloured geometric forms. This was the beginning of minimalist furnishings and interiors. Gerrit Reitveld designs such as his Red/Blue chair and Schroeder House are considered to be the exact physical representations of the De Stijl philosophies. In Schroeder House, Reitveld used partitions on rollers which could be moved at will in order to fit around the inhabitants' needs.






REFERENCES:
Charlotte & Peter Fiell, 2012. Design of the 20th Century (25). Edition. Taschen.

Thomas Hauffe, 2001. Design: From the Industrial Revolution to the 21st Century (Flipguides). Edition. Dumont Monte.

N/A, (2009), N/A [ONLINE]. Available at: http://jamshadarshad.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/destijl-large_o.jpg [Accessed 16 November 13].

Piet Mondrian , (1931), Tableau 2 [ONLINE]. Available at:http://pessimiss.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/mondrian-tableau-11-1921-5.jpg [Accessed 16 November 13]

Gerrit Reitveld, (1924), Schroeder House Interior [ONLINE]. Available at: http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/1293607917-schroder30.jpg [Accessed 16 November 13].