"The reality that architecture can create is space."
-Gerrit Rietveld

A bold and angular lounge armchair, the Utrecht is fully upholstered in fabric or leather, its generous proportions and deeply cushioned seat and back designed above all else for comfort and relaxation.

Originally designed in 1935 for the Metz & Co. department store in Amsterdam for production and sale, it was the first fully upholstered design Rietveld had done. Rather than treating the chair as a unified whole, Rietveld separated its elements into distinct structural units (seat, back, arms and base) each resolved independently before being brought together. The result was a chair that felt at once rational and generous, its blocky, architectural form concealing a surprisingly inviting place for respite. Metz & Co. sold the chair (and later the sofa) until 1973 with a brief interruption in production during WW2.

Though the Utrecht arrived some years after Rietveld's most overtly theoretical work, it remains deeply connected to the ideals of De Stijl and the Neoplastic movement with which he had become synonymous. Where the Red and Blue chair was a manifesto rendered in primary colors, the Utrecht was something quieter, a demonstration that the same rigorous thinking could produce furniture of genuine warmth and everyday usefulness. It stands as one of the clearest expressions of Rietveld's belief that Modern design need not choose between intellectual conviction and human comfort.

The Utrecht is available in fabric or leather, with a choice of blanket or zig-zag top-stitching. The collection also includes the Utrecht Baby, a smaller version sized for children, the Utrecht XL, a more generous interpretation of the original lounge, and the Utrecht Sofa.