SITE ANALYSIS: Located in central Holland, in a small city called Utrecht, the Schroder Rietvield house lies in midst a neoclassical neighborhood that is mainly constructed of brick.
This modernist house is merely an intruder to this rather homogeneous neighborhood, as it is clearly noticeable upon encountering it. I was startled when I encountered the Schroder house on Hendriklaan street as I felt like I was out of place.
The Schroder housesits on the corner of Hendriklaan Street, facing a large motorway. This building was constructed in the 60’s in the midst of a small park. All the visuals and social areas were designed around this park - which is non-existent at this time. This building, however, has an independent style to the neighborhood
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The first is the main entrance, the southwestern facading that faces print hendriklaan. The gate here opens up from the sidewalk, which has a walkway and a patio space. The small door on the patio leads into the studio on the ground floor (which is connected to the main entrance foyer).
The second transition space is between the walkway and the street. This path contains a bench on the outside, and another one on the inside hall creating a homogeneous experience. This area is overshadowed by a balcony on top, that is inset in order to create a dramatic main entrance feel. The third transition area is at the eastern corner of the house that connects to the exterior via transparent barriers (in this case, windows that look into the kitchen). The way these windows are designed with the mullion and the. Angle maintains vision in areas and blocks them to others (east vision is blocked). The fourth transition is on the first floor leading to the housekeepers’ room. A balcony on the floor above (which happens to be Truus Schroder’s bedroom shadows this area. The fifth and final area is a vertical shaft that lets in skylight from the roof all the way through the ground floor. This vertical system illuminates a large portion of the area, as well as creates dramatic double height