Wim Rietveld (1924-1985)

Wim Rietveld (1924-1985)

He was the son of world famous architect and designer Gerrit Th. Rietveld, positioned himself with simple functional, solid, practical designes. Wim Rietveld together with Kho Liang Ie and Friso Kramer belongs to the pioneers in the field of industrial design in the Netherlands. Wim Rietveld combined his studies at the Royal Academy in The Hague with a steady job in the workshop of his father. After graduating, from the fifties on he started to work for furniture manufacturers like Gispen, Circle and Ahrend, but he also developed agricultural machinery, boats, weighing equipment and subway trains. His work has won several awards at home and abroad.

Auping Valet chair (dress boy)

Gispen 116 chair

Gispen 663 shelving system

Wim Rietveld designed this chair in 1953 for the Gispen company in Culemborg, the Netherlands. The chair has a round steel frame and the seat and back are made of bent birch plywood. The wood and metal are connected by rubber discs that provide suspension and comfort.

The Gispen 663 was designed by Wim Rietveld as a modular shelving system in lacquered steel and was introduced in 1954 at the 10th Triennale in Milan, Italy. The Gispen 663 shelving system was winner of the ‘Diploma d Ónore’, the highest reward.