Gerrit Rietveld

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Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (Utrecht June 24 1888 – Utrecht June 26 1964), was a Dutch designer, architect and cabinet maker.

In 1911, Rietveld started his own furniture factory, while studying architecture. Rietveld designed the Red and Blue Chair in 1918, influenced by the 'De Stijl' movement, of which he became a member in 1919, the same year in which he became an architect. In 1924 he designed the Schröder house for Truus Schröder-Schräder, with whom he cooperated. The house is located in Utrecht. The house, while guided by geometric forms, is asymmetrical.

Rietveld broke with the 'De Stijl' movement in 1928 and switched to the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid. The same year he joined the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne.

He designed the "Zig-Zag" chair in 1934 and started the design of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.