Following the worldwide trend towards a more global contemporary design movement, The Netherlands has proven themselves as a country that produce design wonders, in particular in the field of product design. Since the 90’s, big names such as Maarten Baas, Jurgen Bey, Richard Hutten, Hella Jongerius, Wieki Somers, Hester van Eeghen and Marcel Wanders have been recognized as the industry’s most renowned designers. The Dutch also has respectable architect Rem Koolhaas and duo fashion designer: Viktor&Rolf whom have been giving core credibility towards the enrichment of “Dutch Design”.
As a term used to connote design in the Netherlands, Dutch Design can be characterized as minimalist, experimental, innovative, quirky, and humorous. Historically, the Dutch was only known for its graphic design until the 80’s, when the term ‘Dutch Design’ started to come into popular use. With the uprising of product designers mentioned above, Dutch Design has been associated more to product design in general use. The existence of great design academies such as The Design Academy in Eindhoven and Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam combine with strong government support for new designers, also making The Netherlands a country that is pro-design oriented.
During my visit to Amsterdam in January, I was so impressed not only by the grandeur of the city’s classic architecture but also on how well the contemporary design blends in with the surrounding. As most of the buildings in this city are under government protection due to its historical value, contemporary elements manifested within the interior rather than the exterior.
A visit to the famous Moooi in De Jordaan district was the no. 1 destination on my design travel itineraries. Opened in 2008 and with its 700 square meters, Moooi Showroom Amsterdam stands out as a glorious space that brings us into a world containing extraordinary, playful realities in different scales and compositions. In this art gallery like setting, Moooi Amsterdam has all the great and iconic products such as Maarten Baas’s smoke chair, Front’s horse lamp, to Marcel Wanders’ latest Royal Delft collection.
When Marcel Wanders founded Moooi with Casper Vissers in 2001, he added and extra ‘o’ to the Dutch word Mooi (means beautiful) that stands for an extra value in terms of beauty and uniqueness. Aside from Marcel Wanders’ designs, Moooi also features work from other nationally and internationally recognized designers.
As a district that is known for tiny yet picturesque store, boutiques, cafes and art galleries, I also found another interesting place to visit in this area called Anno that sells designers furniture and accessories. Aside from big brands such as Kartell, Anno also features young designer works such as Daphna Laurens. It is just few meters away from Moooi and January is a good time to visit as it is when they have an annual sale.
Thanks to the great reception cum concierge at The Exchange hotel where I stayed, they informed me about the Dutch Design Year pop up store right across the hotel in Damrak district inside Beurs Van Berlage building. In this pop up store you can find the newest design products at affordable price ranges from young and upcoming Dutch designers such as David Derksen, Ontwerpduo, Pepe Heykoop, Dieter Volkers and Klaas Kuiken, Elisa Strozyk, Dirk van der Kooij, Sander Wassink and Mieke Meijer. The collection changes all the time so you will always find new products during the year.
If you have time, you might also want to admire the building where this pop up store exist. The Beurs van Berlage was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. Constructed of red brick, with an iron and glass roof and stone piers, lintels and corbels, the architect was aiming to modify the styles of the past by emphasizing sweeping planes and open plan interiors. True to its nineteenth-century roots, it maintains the use of ornament in a civic structure.
Aside from the existing great design in the heart of Amsterdam, I also ventured a little bit out of town to little area called Otterlo. Here lies the beautiful Hoge Veluwe National Park where one of The Netherlands best museums called The Kroller-Muller is located. Founded in 1938 by Helene Kroller-Muller, this museum cum sculpture garden is known to have the second largest Van Gogh painting collection after the Van Gogh museum itself in Amsterdam. Helene herself was an avid art collector who was one of the first to recognize Vincent van Gogh’s genius and collect his works.
In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the state of the Netherlands. This act is later continue with the completion of the museum in 1938, which was designed by Henry van de Velde within the national park in 75 acres land. The sculpture garden was added in 1961 and the new exhibition wing, designed by Wim Quist, opened in 1977.
For me, going to this museum was a unique experience of art combined with great architecture and serene nature. It combines the second largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world with the biggest sculpture garden in Europe. The surroundings and environment play an important role in the experience of the visitor. The museum is located in a beautiful, green area and its huge windows really draw the nature inside. Outside in the sculpture garden, you’ll find a large part of the art collection. So depending on the weather and season, and depending on whether you look from the outside in, or the inside out, the museum always has a new experience to offer. This interplay between art, nature and architecture was our starting point for the identity. Influenced by light and movement, the characters become part of a sculptural typography which seems almost animated.
The museum has a considerable collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, such as The Potato Eaters, Cafe Terrace at Night and Sorrowing Old Man (’At Eternity’s Gate’), as well as other highlights such as works by Piet Mondrian, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Georges Braque, Paul Gauguin, and Pablo Picasso to name a few. The garden reflects Helene Kröller-Müller’s conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture and nature. The collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Jean Dubuffet, Mark di Suvero, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg, Fritz Wotruba, Joep van Lieshout and many more. A visit to this museum will surely inspired you in many ways.
Amsterdam and The Netherlands as a country really is an exciting place for design to bloom. If only I have more days to spend, surely more will be discovered. I haven’t even discussed about the classics such as The Rijks Museum architecture and the palace... This article would easily ended up as an essay.