I am following my modernist instincts into this house built more than 80 years ago in Rotterdam. The client was Albertus Sonneveld and the architecture firm of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt designed a home for the Sonneveld family that embodied the essence of NIEUWE BOUWEN - the new Dutch functionalist building.
I am transported through the poetic reveal of its curvilinear volumes from one level to the next - my partial reflection moving along the gleaming ribbon of a steel handrail as I climb...
the hushed light through frosted panes softening black marble and warming a bronze bust...
the steps spiraled around a hard-topped drum, resonating curves in plaster, metal, stone...
the grace of descent to the utilitarian chambers where steam glows on the yellow tiles...
the drying of linen towels in the quiet solitude and functional elegance of the laundry room...
Upon leaving, I gazed up to the circular nebula quivering daylight over a simple glass globe...
