Het Nieuwe Instituut

The Agency for Architecture, Design, and Digital Culture connects design fields with questions from the outside world, both regional and international.

Automated Landscapes is a long-term collaborative research initiative on the implications of automation for the built environment, launched in 2017 by Het Nieuwe Instituut, and directed by its Research department.

This web magazine documents the proceedings, output and cultural context of the Bot Club, a recurring programme on algorithmic culture, one of the long-term research projects of Het Nieuwe Instituut’s R&D department.

Collecting Otherwise is one of the research projects currently being developed by Het Nieuwe Instituut as part of the Rethinking the Collection initiative, and under the umbrella of Disclosing Architecture. This background of this initiative is the decision of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) to invest 11 million euros over the next six years in the visibility – and thus the restoration and digitisation – of the National Collection of Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, which is hosted and cared for by Het Nieuwe Instituut. In this context, Het Nieuwe Instituut considers it imperative to ask fundamental questions about the value and significance of the documents contained in the collection. In turn, these questions could contribute to the reorientation of notions of what could, or should, constitute heritage and archiving in specific moments in time.

Het Nieuwe Instituut manages 600 archives and collections of Dutch architects, urban planners, professional associations and educational institutions, comprising a total of some 4,000,000 documents. 

Disclosing Architecture is a six-year initiative to increase the visibility and continued accessibility of the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, made possible by a one-off investment from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science..

Het Nieuwe Instituut has a hybrid programme of online and offline activities. Het Nieuwe Instituut Online is the platform for livestream events.

A programme about world-making design on the fringes of Europe.

Het Nieuwe Instituut's programming and R&D has an international focus that reflects the fact that design operates in a global field and presents itself on a global stage

Invented from Copies is a research project under the umbrella of Disclosing Architecture that examines an undervalued element of the archive collection: the architectural reproduction. Het Nieuwe Instituut explores how these reproduction techniques relate to the design process and to design culture. 

The Jaap Bakema Study Centre is a collaborative project of Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Faculty of Architecture of TU Delft. It initiates and undertakes research projects that result in exhibitions, publications, and public events, often in collaboration with third parties and within international networks. The Jaap Bakema Study Centre combines contemporary social issues with fundamental research and knowledge development in the field of the creative industry: design, culture and society.

Members of Het Nieuwe Instituut support our mission to navigate the vast and evolving field of design. Be inspired by our special program of Members’ events and meet up with other like-minded people as we invite you to reflect with us on changing role of design in technology, economy, culture and society.

Design and digital culture contribute significantly to the way Dutch society defines, manifests and develops itself. A well-preserved, open and accessible archive is therefore a precondition for the design discipline in order to meet the task assigned to it by Dutch culture and society. The Network Archives Design and Digital Culture has therefore been created as a partnership between heritage organisations including Het Nieuwe Instituut, knowledge and research institutions, and individual archives of Dutch design heritage.

The New Material Award invites artists and designers to present designs that offer innovative solutions to the issues of today and the challenges of tomorrow. Each project should integrate new materials, or innovative ways of using materials.

New presentations of mainly young design talent can be seen in the foyer of Het Nieuwe Instituut every few weeks. It is a way of highlighting a striking design or innovative research, whether or not it is connected with the current exhibition and debate programme of Het Nieuwe Instituut.

In the regional programme, Het Nieuwe Instituut concentrates on projects with local and regional governments that have a certain urgency for a particular region.

In recent years, the concept and practice of research has attracted renewed attention within the cultural sector. Research plays a critical role in elucidating the relevance of both existing and new ideas, and the responsibility of institutions in their construction and promotion. 

Studio Rotterdam aims to articulate new perspectives on contemporary issues and future challenges in Rotterdam. Design and designers, preferably local, will play a key role in this.

Studio Visits is a series of evenings dedicated to contemporary architectural practice, its challenges and its possibilities. The series invites professionals, students and the broader public to cross the threshold and take a peek into the architect’s workplace.

What is talent? When is someone considered a talent? Which values and qualities do we attribute to the concept?

Het Nieuwe Instituut’s Thursday Night programme addresses varied issues related to architecture, design and digital culture. Each week there is a lecture or talk show, a pop-in expo, a Thursday Bite and various partner programmes, as well as a chance to visit the exhibitions.

Total Space explores interdisciplinary exchanges between the fields of architecture, urban planning, anthropology and systems theory. The installation Animal Encounters is part of the Total Space project.

Het Nieuwe Instituut is a stylish and well-equipped venue for symposiums, congresses, lectures, meetings, presentations, receptions, lunches and dinners. The building offers an inspiring and creative atmosphere for your (corporate) event.

Vertical Atlas is a project about techno-political cartography developed through a series of five events. Departing from the conceptual model laid out by Benjamin Bratton in The Stack, this series aims at investigating specific geozones where the entanglement of different sovereignties surface and different stacks clash. Vertical Atlas is developed by Hivos, Het Nieuwe Instituut and Stedelijk Museum.