Episode 13: Han Schröder
Johanna “Han” Schröder was one of the first female architects in the Netherlands. She was born on July 16, 1918 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. When she was 5 years old, her father died, and her mother commissioned Gerrit Rietveld to design a new house for their family. The Rietveld-Schröder House became an iconic modernist and De Stijl piece of architecture. Growing up in this house influenced Han in the profession she would choose and also her design principles. During her teenage years, she trained under both Gerrit Rietveld and Gerard van de Groenekan in carpentry, furniture making, model making, and architectural drawings. She attended the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and graduated in 1940. Since the Netherlands was German occupied after her graduation, she moved around Europe and had various jobs with the Netherlands government and the Red Cross to assist the war effort. In 1946, she returned to the Netherlands and worked at the Municipal Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam. In 1949 she went to work at Rietveld’s architecture firm. In 1954, she opened her own architecture, interior design, and graphic design firm. She became one of two registered female architects in the Netherlands out of 3000 male architects. She designed a variety of projects such as private homes, youth and learning centers, low-cost housing, and interior projects. In 1963, Han emigrated to the US. She worked at a few firms in California before taking a teaching job on Long Island in New York. She continued to teach at various universities in the New York area and in Virginia. During these years she was also the consulting architect for the restoration of her childhood home in Utrecht, which is now part of the Centraal Museum. She retired in 1978 and returned to the Netherlands. Han passed away in 1992 in Amsterdam at the age of 73.
Caryatid: Nathalie De Vries
Nathalie grew up in Groningen, Netherlands in a family that focused on architecture, culture, and politics. She always loved Dutch art and architecture such as De Stijl. She attended TU Delft for school and worked for the Dutch firm Mecanoo after school. In 1993, she and two others founded the firm MVRDV in Rotterdam. The firm has become well known for its architecture and urbanism projects, and has received international recognition and awards.
References
Friedman, Alice T., and Maristella Casciato. “Family Matters: The Schröder House, by Gerrit Rietveld and Truus Schröder.” Women and the Making of the Modern House, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 64–91, www.google.com/books/edition/Women_and_the_Making_of_the_Modern_House/-WXuEAwKcSQC?hl=en&gbpv=0.
Gamolina, Julia. “A Broader Vision: MVRDV’s Nathalie de Vries on Running a Business, Reinventing Practice, and Leading by Example.” Madame Architect, 4 Mar. 2020,
Geel, Jessica Van, and Jessica Van Van Geel. I Love You, Rietveld (Dutch Edition). Lebowski, 2018.
The Han Schroeder Architectural Collection, Ms1987-064, Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Moisset, Inés. “HAN SCHRÖDER 1918-1992.” UN DIA | UNA ARQUITECTA 2, 3 Apr. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992.
“Rietveld Schröderhuis – Utrecht – Icoon van De Stijl.” Truus Schröder. I Love You, Rietveld — Rietveld Schröderhuis, www.rietveldschroderhuis.nl/nl/ontdek/truus-schroder-schrader. Accessed 23 Nov. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. “Han Schröder.” Wikipedia, 11 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Schr%C3%B6der.
---. “Truus Schröder-Schräder.” Wikipedia, 12 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truus_Schr%C3%B6der-Schr%C3%A4der.
Images (in order of appearance):
“Beugel Chair (Cassina).” Rietveld Originals, rietveldoriginals.com/en/collection/beugel-chair-cassina/.
Moisset, Inés. “Sonsbeek Pavilion.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 19 Nov. 2016, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992/.
Moisset, Inés. “Binnert Schröder House.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 19 Nov. 2016, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992/.
Moisset, Inés. “Gaastra House.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 19 Nov. 2016, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992/.
Moisset, Inés. “Ellinchem.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 19 Nov. 2016, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992/.
Moisset, Inés. “Snack Bar at Academy of Social Work.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 19 Nov. 2016, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/han-schroder-1918-1992/.
Poelstra, Stijn, and India Block. “Rietveld-Schröder House.” Dezeen, 29 Aug. 2018, www.dezeen.com/2018/08/29/stijn-poelstra-photographs-mondrian-rietveld-schroder-house-architecture/.
