Hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world come to Eindhoven to visit the Dutch Design Week (DDW). The visitors come from all over the world. But people from Brabant are also expressly invited. “It is a missed opportunity if people from Brabant think it is not intended for them,” says Lucas Asselbergs of Eindhoven University of Technology.
“Perhaps the image has arisen that it is a week for the elite, with beautiful but above all expensive things,” says Asselbergs. “We want to show that our designs are important for the world of tomorrow. Here you will find solutions to today’s problems. Think of the reception of refugees, housing shortage, pollution, computer crime and loneliness.”
During the Dutch Design Week you see a piece of the future, that is the idea. “We are very far ahead of our time. Governments and companies come by and are very interested.”
“A lot of innovative things are happening in this region.”
Here you see things that could be in the store in a few years. As an example, Asselbergs mentions a smart sticker on your fruit bowl that shows which fruit is ripe and which fruit has expired. “Or a camera with infrared light that monitors an entire hospital ward in one fell swoop. The camera keeps track of the heart rate and blood pressure of all patients.”
Often the idea has not yet been fully developed, but you do see a precursor of the end product. “We were once named the smartest region in the world. A lot of innovative things are happening here. We can be very proud of that as a region.”
For the famous designer Maarten Baas, the Dutch Design Week was ‘the starting signal’, he says. He graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2002 with the Smoke furniture line. Chairs and cupboards were set on fire and extinguished, giving them their recognizable appearance.
“Eindhoven still has a bit of that calimero feeling.”
According to Maarten Baas, the Dutch Design Week is not only interesting for the enthusiast. “Designing is something for everyone. After all, everything is designed: bicycles, child seats, cars.”
2600 designers show their work in various places in the city for nine days. “There is something for everyone. From children to the elderly. You can never see everything. If you want to see how artists and designers themselves work with, for example, ceramics or wood, you can visit studios. If you like car design, you can go to the Klokgebouw. You can choose the subjects you like.”
According to the designer, the Dutch Design Week has put Eindhoven on the map. “Eindhoven still has that calimero feeling: ‘We are really big’. I don’t understand where it comes from. Eindhoven is taken much more seriously by many people during the Dutch Design Week. The city has matured.”
The Dutch Design Week is in Eindhoven from 22 to 30 October. The TU designs can be viewed daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Ketelhuisplein in Strijp-S.
