Thursday 24 June is the kick off of the international Rietveld Year with Rietveld currant buns (‘krentenbollen), the launch of the Rietveld iPhone application, the start of the multidisciplinary programme and the publication of the Rietveld Magazine. The city of Utrecht is rightly proud to have within its city limits the most Rietveld buildings and the fact that the Centraal Museum is the owner of the largest Rietveld collection in the world. Rietveld’s work is characterised by its craftsmanship, the possibility of reuse and sustainability, important up and coming and contemporary values. That is why the city of Utrecht has proclaimed the year 2010 as Rietveld Year. The year is regarded as the starting point of a longterm campaign to profile Rietveld as an icon of the city and province of Utrecht and to permanently link his name to Utrecht.
Rietveld ‘krentenbol’
The celebrations marking the Rietveld Year will start on Thursday 24 June at 8 a.m. when special currant buns (‘krentenbollen’) are served to the people of Utrecht in front of the Rietveld Schröder House. The story goes that the ‘krentenbol’, was Rietveld’s favourite delicacy. The special Rietveld ‘krentenbol’ is made by master chef Jon Sistermans of Restaurant Wilhelminapark in Utrecht.
Programme
The Rietveld Year has a multidisciplinary character. The aim is to get a broad and divers public interested into the life and range of ideas of Gerrit Rietveld. This is why the Central Museum is collaborating with various partners, including the Dutch Film Festival, Premsela, residents of Rietveld houses, Armando Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Utrecht Manifest, Dick Bruna, rock act C-Mon & Kypski, the University of Utrecht, Technical University Delft, the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi) and the Van Gogh Museum. Highlight of the Rietveld Year is the exhibition Rietveld’s Universe at the Centraal Museum. This exhibition runs between 20 October and 30 January. For the full programme, see www.rietveldjaar.nl.
Rietveld iPhone application
The Utrecht architect Rietveld has realised over 100 projects in the Netherlands. These projects have been included in the Rietveld Architecture iPhone application, developed in collaboration with Makayama. The application is launched and freely available from this day. With the application you can see, wherever you are in the Netherlands, if there is a Rietveld building in the vicinity. With the navigation system you can find the location of the building.
Rietveld Magazine
Rietveld was an appealing architect and designer, but also a very special man. Both these aspects have been highlighted in the Rietveld Magazine, which is compiled in collaboration with Eigen Huis & Interieur (Home & Design) magazine. The magazine also includes a programme with a complete overview of all activities. The magazine is distributed during the events and can be purchased at the Centraal Museum for € 2.95.
