The Sonneveld Huis (Sonneveld House) is one of the best-preserved houses in the Nieuwe Bouwen, or Dutch Functionalist style. It was designed by Leen van der Vlugt in 1933 as an ultramodern residence for the Sonneveld family.
- Dutch Functionalist architecture.
- Ultramodern interior and design inspired by the New Objectivity movement.
- Iconic 1930's Gispen furniture.
Dutch Functionalism
The house is a grand testament to Dutch Functionalism: an architectural movement which believed that the design of a building should be based on its function. "Light, air and space" was the movement's slogan describing the transparent, airy impressions of the interiors in contrast to the closed volumes of traditional architecture.
Impressive interior design
Every detail came from Sonneveld's specifications and selected with the most advanced taste. Almost all furnishings, tables, chairs were made by Gispen, a Dutch manufacturer of designer furniture. The color scheme was selected from the pattern book of Bart van der Leck, the prominent De Stijl artist and by doing so the Sonneveld Huis was the first Dutch interior to be furnished with Van der Leck's fabrics.
Futuristic highlights
The house was filled with high-tech gadgets for that time and multi-purpose furniture that was custom made for the family. One ultramodern feature of the house is the built-in couch designed by Van der Vlugt himself, which functions as a bookshelf, cupboard and sound system in one. It has a control panel and volume and tuning buttons, and is connected to the other rooms in the house, enabling music to be heard in these rooms. Another highlight is the futuristic shower unit consisting of 10 massage shower heads. The family also had 12 telephone units in the house, despite the fact that having a telephone in the 1930s was extremely expensive. To them, the telephone was an essential part of modern life.
Experience what it is like living like a Sonneveld, and enjoy the best of Dutch Functionalism at the Sonneveld Huis.