step inside a de stijl icon through david altrath's images of the rietveld schröder house

David Altrath photographs the rietveld Schröder House

German photographer David Altrath delivers a visual narrative of one of architectural modernism’s most radical dwellings—the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht, Netherlands. Designed in 1924 by Gerrit Rietveld for the Dutch socialite Truus Schröder-Schräder, the home stands as a three-dimensional manifesto of the De Stijl movement. Through Altrath’s crisp compositions, the series offers a fresh perspective on a house that, over a century later, still feels like it belongs to the future.

all images by David Altrath

de stijl’s legacy lives on in utrecht

Altrath’s images reveal the innovative structure of the residence, drawing attention to the relationship formed by the lines, planes, and bold primary colors that compose its visual language. With no fixed corners, sliding panels, and jutting planes, Rietveld dissolves the divide between inside and outside. Altrath casts his lens on this interplay of openness with precision, letting light and shadow animate the architecture’s geometric rigor.

The adaptable interior layout of the Rietveld Schröder House, where walls move and rooms shift to accommodate daily life, comes alive through Altrath’s series. His shots focus on the architectural decisions that challenged the rigid domestic norms of the 1920s, instead proposing a flexible, living architecture rooted in abstraction, freedom, and clarity. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the dwelling is one of the few built expressions of De Stijl principles in architecture. 

David Altrath delivers a visual narrative of one of architectural modernism’s most radical dwellings

the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was designed in 1924 by Gerrit Rietveld

the home stands as a three-dimensional manifesto of the De Stijl movement

even a century later, the house still feels ahead of its time

Altrath’s images reveal the innovative structure of the residence

lines, planes, and bold primary colors compose the visual language

The Red and Blue chair by Gerrit Rietveld

the Zig-Zag Chair in red

the residence is one of the few built expressions of De Stijl principles in architecture

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with no fixed corners, sliding panels, and jutting planes, Rietveld dissolves the divide between inside and outside

Altrath casts his lens on this interplay of openness with precision

L40 pendant

letting light and shadow animate the architecture’s geometric rigor

walls move and rooms shift to accommodate daily life

the shots focus on the architectural decisions that challenged the rigid domestic norms of the 1920s

a flexible, living architecture rooted in abstraction, freedom, and clarity

now a UNESCO World Heritage site

Side table by Gerrit Rietveld

 

 

 

 

 

 

project info:

name: Rietveld Schröder House
photographer: David Altrath | @davidaltrath

architect: Gerrit Rietveld

location: Utrecht, Netherlands