Wim Rietveld (1924-1985)

Being the son of the architect and designer Gerrit Th. Rietveld, Wim Rietveld was already interested in design at a young age. His first working experience he obtained as a pupildesigner and later as head of the drawing office at a factory for industrial weighting equipment. In 1950 Rietveld decided to study Design on the royal Academy of the Hague. The quality of his graduating object induced W.H. Gispen to invite him for a position at Gispen's firm. At that time, Holland was in a period of reconstruction and there was a shortage in basic materials.
Rietveld considered this to be a challenge and forced himself to make functional designs which were not only well shaped, but also solid, practical and cheap. This originated in the successful Gispen collection: "furniture for a simple interior". From 1960 onwards, Rietveld concentrated mainly on the design of means of transport which originated from his interest in the essence of products and its technique. Furthermore, he held a position as a teacher at the Academy of The Hague and the former Polytechnic in Delft, where he was appointed in 1973 as associate Professor in the department for industrial design.