Het Nieuwe Instituut

From September to March 2019, the blue upholstered strap chair designed by Marcel Breuer in 1924 will be on show at Sonneveld House, Het Nieuwe Instituut’s museum house. For Het Nieuwe Instituut this forms the prelude to the institute’s own programme of Bauhaus-related activities beginning in the spring of 2019. 

A finished design doesn’t appear by magic. It’s the result of exploration, play, and trying out different ideas. You could call it messing about. You’ll find lots of examples of this in all designers’ archives. 

Habitat: Expanding Architecture is a research installation which captures a key moment in the history of architecture and urban planning: the tenth CIAM conference at Dubrovnik in 1956. Here the concept 'habitat' was a central theme: a broader understanding of architecture through a new ecological approach viewing architecture less as an autonomous discipline than as part of larger, dynamic whole.

Based on the on-going design research Recrafting Craft fashion educator and researcher Mascha van Zijverden explores, in collaboration with architect Dirk Osinga, speculative scenarios for tomorrow’s fashion education. What if the future fashion school was located at a farm and created its own circular economy? What if the fashion school merged with a biotech research lab at a university?

Woodturner and designer Suzan Doornbos discovered the art of woodturning five years ago after reading the book ‘Om de vorm’ [On form] on the life and work of Maria van Kesteren. As an assistant to and under the mentorship of the now 85-year-old Maria van Kesteren, Suzan developed a style of her own. The hallmark of Suzan’s work is its simplicity of form, and a recurring theme of hers is serenity. She steers clear of ‘fussy’ types of wood and frills, and goes back to basics. By combining wood with other materials such as rubber, rope and metal, she aims to strengthen her forms and create timeless designs. In this workshop Suzan will share her fascination for circular forms and use her work to show how she comes up with her designs.

In Speculative Design Archive Live!, a range of experts will enter into discussion with one another on issues raised by the Speculative Design Archive. During the debate on Thursday 21 February 2019, we will devote attention to new approaches to dealing with archives and heritage through forms of collaboration making them more accessible and easier to use. 

In February, the Jaap Bakema Study Centre organises archive conversations with and about the authors of the archive material that is on show at Habitat: Expanding Architecture. Sunday 24 February, Pjotr Gonggrijp and Frits Palmboom will be talking about their work based on the material on show in the exhibition.

Perhaps the lack of digital documentation of the work of Cubic3 Design is the reason the duo is overlooked in Dutch design history, or maybe it’s that they are just not understood. What would it mean to them if they did get this kind of online recognition?

Lernert & Sander. Peppi & Kokkie. Rembo & Rembo. Duos are available in all shapes and sizes. Join forces and you count for two; but what are the advantages and disadvantages of a design duo? Is designing better with two than one, and how are the roles divided? Does one plus one actually make three, and who has the last word?

Win a special architecture print, rebuild The New Café, help us conceive the ideal design archive and be seduced by performances and music in the successful contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale. Spoken-word artists bring Sonneveld House to life with nocturnal stories about contemporary Rotterdam. Build, bid, speculate, exchange, dance and enjoy! 

On 7 March 2019 the International Clinic is dedicated to Europe. Are you looking for an EU partner? Do you want to find out how to finance a joint project with a European partner? Or are you looking for a suitable artist-in-residency? Our consultants are happy to help you on your way.

Are people welcome in the workplaces of the future? Will site value soon be determined by global data flows? What role does the government still have in this? The 'Architecture of Labour' is a program of six public debates on the spatial dimension of work and its transition toward new modes of production. The program occur between March and December 2019 and it results from a collaboration between Deltametropolis Association, Het Nieuwe Instituut and Spontaneous City International.

On Thursday 7 March, Georg Vrachliotis (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) will deliver the final lecture in the discursive programme of Habitat: Expanding Architecture. Vrachliotis will talk about the influence of systems theory on architecture and planning, with particular attention to the case of Swiss architect Fritz Haller, who created one of the most enigmatic visions regarding total urban systems.

Producer, designer and Workspacer Manuel Toledo curates a second film night especially for Thursday Night Live! From his fascination with architecture, culture and the creative industries, Toledo has established two international architecture film festivals in Santiago de Chile and London. The film H20mx (2014, Mexico) will be screened on 7 March in Het Nieuwe Instituut.

‘Reading Matter’ explores the relationship between design and matter from ecological, historical or sensory perspectives. What underpins the cultural difference between matter and material? And what are the possibilities for the non-exploitative forms of coexistence with the material world?

The second of three small-scale Research Meetings at Het Nieuwe Instituut, in the context of the research project Geographies of Freedom.

Research through Design is the designerly contribution to the creating of new knowledge. Knowledge that can be used by others. And brought about by designerly interventions such as speculating about the future, making prototypes, and engaging with complexity and ambiguity without necessarily trying to ‘box them in’.

A conversation with Adrian Lahoud, Dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art and Sudanese diplomat Lumumba Di-Aping reflecting on Lahoud’s research ‘Climate Crimes’.

What if losing is a game? Game designer Karel Millenaar believes that every complex idea can be simplified while you play. Taking losing as his point of departure, he involves the players in a speeded up process of thinking and making from which different roles emerge. Since you learn the most by doing, these games are played and evaluated together. Not dwelling too long on an idea and simply starting to mess around is precisely what makes problems easier to grasp.

 Join a one-day gathering of people showing their thing. Display and tell about what you’re already doing, would like to be doing and how others can get involved.

The third of three small-scale Research Meetings at Het Nieuwe Instituut, in the context of the research project Geographies of Freedom.

The Jaap Bakema Study Centre organizes an International PhD Workshop together with the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of the Delft University of Technology. The subject of the workshop will be 'Architecture and Democracy', which is also the focus of the newly launched PhD-programme of the Jaap Bakema Study Centre.

A guided meditation created by artist Annika Kappner invites the visitor to explore the (bio) diversity and complexity of The New Garden.

Reuse of digital collections in museums and archives produces new stories in potentially surprising, innovative forms. Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision invite makers to create new work using archive items from their digital collections. 

An exhibition on what could be called the last Western, political garment - as controversial as it is fashionable - the Hoodie. Its historical roots and its role in culture, fashion and politics. Curated by writer and curator Lou Stoppard.