Theo van Doesburg- Interior Design Concepts

“Without colour, architecture lacks expression and is blind” (Van Doesburg in De Stijl, 1928)

In 1926, Theo van Doesburg; Painter, poet, art critic, designer, typographer, architect, performance artist, co-founder of the De Stijl movement was appointed to transform the cinema/ballroom and Salle de Fêtes.

He used this project to explore his theory of Elementarism, which built upon the concepts of Neoplasticism developed by the Stijl movement of Dutch abstract artists. In addition to flat planes and rectilinear configurations, Elementarism employed inclined planes and relief to activate compositions.Van Doesburg imagined the interior as a ‘house of passage’ in which rooms would be interlinked to create a fluidity which would allow people to watch the films showing in the cinema while outside the room at the bar. In the cinema/ballroom van Doesburg reacts to the orthogonal layout of the room by introducing a diagonal grid which gives the room a dynamic atmosphere. It is believed Van Doesburg's daring introduction of the diagonal into his work was enough to cause a rift between him and his good friend Piet Mondrian. 

Nevertheless, the Salle de Fêtes, in contrast, adheres to a composition of horizontal and vertical lines forming a variety of squares and rectangles.Van Doesburg initially intended to use durable materials for his intervention, however, this proved too expensive and was replaced by materials which would give the illusion of the quality he desired, such as paint. The colour palette is bold, comprising primary and monochrome tones: red, yellow, blue, green, white, grey and black.

A variety of materials are incorporated: concrete, iron, glass, aluminium, rubber, linoleum, enamel, leather, parquet. I think that he used this range of textures in order to create a tactile and diverse environment.

Another important element in his concept is the treatment of lighting which is seamlessly designed into the scheme. A square module of 4ftx4ft is used throughout the design as a ‘building block’ which is multiplied to form the larger shapes. This module fits 16 light fittings arranged in an orthogonal array which can be seen in the Salle de Fêtes. There is no central lighting in the rooms, instead indirect light is drawn from other rooms or outside through frosted glass or from the randomly distributed artificial lighting panels.

In my opinion, he thought that the even lighting enhances the form, texture and colour of the interior design and allows it to be viewed as ‘fixed furniture’. The room is not simply an empty space but more like a sculpture or piece of art.

This intervention is an interesting and successful fusion of art and architecture, using the room as a canvas on which to paint in a strict style and explore the three dimensionality. I admire the detail of the design and holistic approach, van Doesburg designed a typeface specifically for the project for advertising, signage, literature and even coasters. In addition, he also designed all the lighting, ventilation and heating units to harmonise with the grid and guidelines set up by the purist De Stijl approach. The result is a space which is not spoiled by necessary additions but rather enhanced by them as everything is taken into consideration and designed meticulously. 

The reason why I made a deeper research about Teo van Doesburg, is because during last class I was really impressed of what he was approaching interior design related to that period of time. After that, I discovered more about his talent, so I can really say that for me, his work is a masterpiece of interior design.