Maison Particulière. Graphic Reading and Virtual Reconstruction

Abstract

De Stijl, a modern and avant-garde movement of the early twentieth century, is considered the link between the pre-1914 avant-garde and the post-1918 International Style. The name derives from the magazine founded in 1917 and used for the promotion of the ideals ofNeoplasticism, theorised by Theo VanDoesburg. In 1924 Van Doesburg published the essay Tot een beeldende architectuur in which he explained a 16 points manifesto on the neoplastic vision of modern architecture. The analysis of the drawings and contra-constructions and the comparative reading of all the original drawings allowed for a series of graphic interpretations, which made the project understandable. This interpretative-reconstructive process was preparatory to the virtual representation of the Maison Particulière, through the development of a parametric 3D model. This was used to create a multimedia product that narrated the manifesto developed by van Doesburg and that was its animated graphic transcription. The result is a video, which can be consulted online and can also be used for educational purposes, for understanding vanDoesburg’s theories on neoplastic architecture, the virtual display of his ideas and the natural representation of architecture in space and time.