sonneveld house

cc1Canada

you don't want to miss this one..... give yourself a bit of history in a sweet snapshot.. imagine life after WW2.... living in Rotterdam with the money to express your hope for the future. beautiful.... take your time.. enjoy the furniture, enjoy the outdoor spaces and IMAGINE.

168christeld

you're allowed to walk all around the house - good audio guide - the entrance is combined with the museum of modern architecture

EdwardLeigh

A must visit for architecture and design lovers. A brilliantly practical 1930s home restored and furnished with great care. For once an audio guide adds to the experience, providing interesting insights. Allow at least an hour.

PAJOG

As a fan of 20th Century design & architecture visiting the Sonneveld House was a must. Similar to Erno Goldfinger's house on Willow Road, Hampstead one feel's the presence of the original occupants still. Exquisitely designed, the light, space and luxury is almost overwhelming. We visited on a sodden, rainy, dismal day and the light from within was incredible. What I loved was being able to relax in a chair or on the sofa as if I was at home or visiting as a friend of the family. Must go back and do it all again some day!

423PeterR

An interesting step into high modernism. The audio tour is the best way to do it. The house is perfectly curated to showcase wha's important.

Bartjejans

It's really nice to visit this house knowing it was built in 1934. You can visit all the rooms and get a good view of how the rich family of Sonneveld used to live. In those days it was one of the most modern houses in the Netherlands. There is a free audioguide with some intresting stories told by people that used to work there or friends of the family.It costs 10 € per person to visit but with the ticket you can also visit het nieuwe instituut.

Fredy_Marx

this is an immaculately restored family home, perfectly representative of the modernist movement from the 30ies, applied to the Dutch "de stijl" movement - it's a most go see micro-museum, which in turns grants you access to the next door museum of architecture.

OverwatV

It takes 40 mins to walk around the building - opening cupboards and poking around the different rooms. The audio guide is really informative.

cinesmith630

If you are interested in the roots of modernist architecture you can't be in Rotterdam and not see this. It is beautifully curated and presented and furnished. It is a rare example in such good, if renovated, condition. But the renovation has gone no further than necessary so the building and furnishings still have accumulated patina. The staff are clear and kind and you get to wander spaces where in other such houses you'd be stuck behind ropes at doorways.And you get in free if you buy a ticket to the adjacent Niewe Institut. Which is also well worth an hour or so, depending on what's on. It celebrates modern architecture.

223jamiea

I had no idea what to expect here. We arrived and were asked to put on shoe covers - you end up looking as though you're going to head to a hospital ward. The rooms in the house looked untouched since the 1960s/70s. As you look around the room you see each room in the very large house complete with all the furnishings and fixtures. Many of the rooms have pieces by well-known designers from the 1930s onwards. The house was well ahead of its time. I had the feeling that the house was rather cold and unwelcoming - but it certainly had everything a family would have wanted.

Corrie2912

house and furniture match perfectly. the house has stunning modern features, considering that it is about 100 years old.

PVR2

Exceptional architecture by Brinkman & Van ver Vlugt the guys who gave you the Van Nelle factory. 1930 Dutch functionalism and man, would I like to live here! Gispen furniture, great bathrooms, modern living, wonderful place. Use the audio tour to be in the know. A must!

californiagirlc

We were driving through Rotterdam and this was one of two things we saw. We were very impressed. If you are an architecture fan, yes, this will be very interesting. But it is quite interesting to other people as well, including kids. The audio tour was excellent. Our elementary aged kids liked it, but would have probably enjoyed the kid version more (which unfortunately was only available in Dutch language). Overall, the house provides a unique opportunity to walk into a house that was originally designed in 1933 as an ultra-modern residence. A visitor will be surprised to see how much ahead of their time the designers of this house were back then. Very unique and interesting. For future, it would be nice if the tickets could be purchased in the house itself (by cash or credit card). This option was only available if you used a Dutch bank card, which no foreign visitor would have. We had to get our tickets from the Nieuwe Instituut around the corner.

JanN534

I visited het Nieuwe Instituut, part of this museum is the Sonneveld House. Most visitors will enjoy the Sonneveld house, you get entrance by visiting the New Institute (Nieuw Instituut). Now this was really great: step in a most modern house of the 1930's. It amazed me how far already they were improving live in those days, about the large windows, the steel construction in the house. You can walk through the house with special overshoes, to protect the house floor. Everything you see is like the thirties. With an audio tour you listen how this house worked and also get some stories about the house inhabitants. Especially architect structure lovers should see this house!

JanN534

Erwin Olaf makes amazing photographs and for these photographs he uses sets by Floris Vos. I was glad to see those in het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. There was also an ipad before these background sets in which Olaf explains everything about his picture. If you know the work by Erwin you might visit this until 30-3-2014. In the cellar you see some scales/drawings, nice for a quick view. I hope this museum give more special expositions in their main space.But most visitors will enjoy the Sonneveld house, you get entrance by visiting the New Institute (Nieuw Instituut). Now this was really great: step in a most modern house of the 1930's. It amazed me how far already they were improving live in those days, about the large windows, the steel construction in the house. You can walk through the house with special overshoes, to protect the house floor. Everything you see is like the thirties. With an audio tour you listen how this house worked and also get some stories about the house inhabitants. Especially architect structure lovers should see this house!