Developed space: Theo van Doesburg and the Chambre de Fleurs

Abstract

Designed in 1925 by Theo van Doesburg, the Chambre de Fleurs is a small rectilinear interior, just 1.2 metres wide by 1.5 metres deep. But whilst modest in terms of its physical dimensions, the experience is of a volume that spills out pictorially in all directions, the diagonal patterns which line its walls extending out, away from the surface towards an imagined auxiliary space. This article looks at the way in which van Doesburg adapted the conventions of architectural drawing to exploit the potential of both geometry and painting. Using the Chambre de Fleurs as an example and considering its qualities in relation to van Doesburg's interest in geometrical figures, an attempt is made to explain how the properties of these drawings can become a productive part of spatial experience in architecture.