Editing Gerrit Rietveld (section)

==De Stijl==
By the time he opened his own furniture workshop in 1917, Rietveld had taught himself drawing, painting and model-making. He afterwards set up in business as a cabinet-maker.<ref name="autogenerated237">Fleming, John, et al. (1972) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture''; 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin; pp. 237-38</ref>

[[File:Armchair Roodblauwe Stoel, designed by Gerrit T. Rietveld, G. A. van de Groenekan, Utrecht NL, 1918, lacquered wood - Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln - Cologne, Germany - DSC09583.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Red and Blue Chair]] in the [[Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Cologne)|Museum für Angewandte Kunst]] in Cologne]]

Rietveld designed his [[Red and Blue Chair]] in 1917 which has become an iconic piece of modern furniture. Hoping that much of his furniture would eventually be mass-produced rather than handcrafted, Rietveld aimed for simplicity in construction.<ref>[http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=4044 ''Red Blue Chair'' (1923)] Museum of Modern Art, New York.</ref> In 1918, he started his own furniture factory, and changed the chair's colours after becoming influenced by the ''[[De Stijl]]'' movement, of which he became a member in 1919, the same year in which he became an architect. The contacts that he made at ''De Stijl'' gave him the opportunity to exhibit abroad as well. In 1923, [[Walter Gropius]] invited Rietveld to exhibit at the [[Bauhaus]].<ref>Rita Reif (13 October 1988), [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/13/garden/rietveld-an-esthetic-wellspring.html Rietveld, an Esthetic Wellspring] ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

[[File:Rietveld Schröder House - Foto 1.jpg|thumb|[[Rietveld Schröder House]] in Utrecht in 2010]]

He built the [[Rietveld Schröder House]], in 1924, in close collaboration with the owner [[Truus Schröder-Schräder]]. Built in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] on the Prins Hendriklaan 50, the house has a conventional ground floor, but is radical on the top floor, lacking fixed walls but instead relying on sliding walls to create and change living spaces.  The house has been a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] since 2000. His involvement in the Schröder House exerted a strong influence on Truus' daughter, [[Han Schröder]], who became one of the first female architects in the Netherlands.<ref>[http://spec.lib.vt.edu/IAWA/inventories/schroder/schroder.htm "Han Schroeder: Architectural Papers, 1926-1998"], ''International Archive of Women in Architecture''. Retrieved 28 February 2012.</ref>