ARCHITECTUURGIDS.NL / ARCHITECTUREGUIDE.NL

SHOWROOM METZ & CO

G.TH. RIETVELD, -1933, Leidsestraat 34-36/Keizersgracht, Amsterdam

ARCHITECT(URAL OFFICE):
Gerrit Rietveld

RENOVATOR:
Cees Dam

BUILDING TYPE:
Shops

Metz & Co, the Amsterdam department store whose wares included Rietveld furniture, asked Rietveld to make a graphic design for the letters ‘Metz & Co’ on the roof. Rietveld enlarged the design brief into one for a pavilion in which to exhibit the new functional furniture in a fitting environment as well as admire the Amsterdam roofscape. The circular glazed display room is carried by a lightweight steel structure; the cupola itself is almost all glass in slender steel frames. This cupola was renovated in 1986 by Cees Dam but has been closed to the public since 2012, when a fashion chain took over the building.