6 Colorful, Geometric Buildings Inspired by Piet Mondrian
Dutch-born artist Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was introduced to art at an early age by his father, a drawing teacher at a local primary school. At the age of 20, Mondrian entered the Academy for Fine Art in Amsterdam and formally began his career as an artist and teacher. In the early stages, Mondrian’s artwork consisted of more traditional landscape paintings, but in 1911, his style was greatly influenced by Cubism—specifically, works by Paul Cézanne, Georges Braque, and Pablo Picasso. Shortly after, Mondrian moved to Paris and his artwork began to turn more abstract.
In 1917, alongside Dutch painter Theo van Doesburg, Mondrian cofounded the De Stijl movement, which was made up of artists and architects who touted simplified visual compositions—straight lines, vertical and horizontal—and the use of only black, white, and primary colors.
Today, Mondrian is regarded as a pioneer of 20th century abstract art and is best-known for his paintings, but his long-lasting legacy has been widespread, influencing architectural masters (Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and the Eameses among them), fashion designers (see: Yves Saint Laurent’s 1965 cocktail dresses), and even musicians. The Dutch painter’s influence on pop culture is still apparent, with Mondrian-inspired coin pouches, vases, wallpaper, and even Nikes. Read on for six buildings from more recent times that embody the spirit of Mondrian’s oeuvre.
For the redesign of their bathroom, an art enthusiast couple in Charlottesville, Virginia, asked design-build firm Alloy Workshop to create a space based on the work of Mondrian, one of their favorite abstract painters. The design team used floor-to-ceiling tiles to reinterpret the Mondrian’s compositions. Yellow tiles connect the shower fixtures to the drain, blue tiles are used for the shower seat, and a red block is recessed to create a niche in the wall.
2. San Francisco’s (Former) Famed "Mondrian House"
The former exterior of this home in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood featured grid-based paintings evocative of the style for which Mondrian is best known. However, the longtime owner of the two-bedroom, one-bathroom residence sold the house in 2019, and unfortunately, the new owners painted over the exterior, which had been that way for more than 20 years.
Bulgarian studio Brani & Desi’s concept-apartment design translates Mondrian’s paintings into 3-D form, highlighting the characteristic lines and primary colors of the painter’s artworks.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the De Stijl movement, the Dutch town of The Hague turned its city hall into a Mondrian masterpiece. Artists from Studio Vollaerszwart repainted the building in 2017, which was designed by American architect Richard Meier in 1955.I
Ukrainian industrial and interior designer Daria Zinovatnaya incorporated colors and lines that bring to mind the paintings of Mondrian in this 807-square-foot apartment in Oslo, Norway.
Architect Joseph Giovannini recast New York City studio apartment, taking cues from Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie-Woogie painting. "I wanted to activate the whole space with these colors," says Giovannini, noting that from every angle in the 425-square-foot studio, one can spy the accents. "The painting ‘paints’ itself as you move around and interact with the space."
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