Desk r6 demonstrates how, after his huge contribution to the aesthetic movement ‘De Stijl’, Rietveld continued to renew himself. In this desk, he designed for the avant-garde warehouse Metz & Co., he incorporates features of his asymmetrical furniture from the early 1920s, such as the 'Berlin Chair', while simultaneously he is conforming to the principles of functionalism. It is an important transitional piece that marks a turn in Rietveld’s career as an architect and furniture designer in the early 1930s, towards functionalism.

It also marks the start of a long and fruitful cooperation with Metz & Co in Amsterdam and The Hague, who played a key role as a manufacturer, reseller and promoter of modernist design. During the process of moving away from artisanal furniture making in his own workshop towards designing serial products mend to be executed by a third party, Metz & Co. gave Rietveld ample space for his experiments.

They also organized high-profile presentations and exhibitions in house and abroad to show Rietveld’s, many times groundbreaking, furniture designs to their network of sophisticated clients. Historic photos, published in architectural magazines, newspapers and folders are showing Desk r6 at a prominent position at several important presentations of Rietveld’s new furniture designs in the early 1930s.