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HOLLAND

HOLLAND Country Edition Spring/Summer 2017 FORM AND SUBSTANCE

There’s much more to than the sum of its parts. Emma Holmqvist Deacon takes a look at one of the most compelling creative scenes in the world

If Scandinavian design is the Fountain. Piet Hein Eek and Hella definition of clean functionality, Jongerius, both of whom are the Dutch counterpart could be celebrated today, were part of this described as its rebellious and game-changing cluster of creatives. free-spirited cousin. While Eek brought something new by 19th-century modernism and De using alternative materials – making Stijl pioneers such as HP Berlage, furniture out of scrap wood – and JJP Oud and Gerrit Rietveld in doing so created a recognisable continue to inspire, what many and much sought-after signature. associate with Dutch design today Jongerius, meanwhile, fused actually emerged in the 1990s. industrial and craft elements in ‘The movement developed as a a way that hadn’t been seen before. reaction to the somewhat stagnant was another design scene of the time,’ says Cok highly influential name. He made de Rooy, owner of renowned his mark with a series called No Sign

PHOTO:THIJS WOLZAK Amsterdam store The Frozen of Design. Hutten’s Table Chair of

82 88 Left: Droog’s must-visit Amsterdam store Lihat halaman 94 untuk terjemahan artikel ini

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1992 invited people to question what irreverent twist typical of the era. they were actually looking at – a How would Droogs’s director chair or a table. ‘The nonconformist Renny Ramakers and The Frozen approach could almost be compared Fountain’s de Rooy define the new to the Memphis group,’ observes de generation of native designers? Both Rooy, referring to the Italian pop experts agree that it’s a different art-inspired design movement beast altogether. ‘In the past, a established by Ettore Sottsass in the product was a product – this is no early 1980s. Conceptual design longer the case,’ notes Ramakers, company Droog is another and de Rooy points out that students cornerstone of Holland’s design and young designers use their work heritage, as is its must-visit as a vehicle to solve problems that Amsterdam store. It stocks iconic will affect their future. ‘Social products, such as the Milkbottle design, involving solutions that will Lamp of 1991, which have an assist the environment, health or communication, is what concerns our young creatives,’ he says. This new breed of designer was out in force at the 2016 graduation show of , one of the most influential schools in the world. Tamara Orjola’s Forest Wool furniture and carpets, made from processed pine needles harvested from timber-industry leftovers, are a good example of this zeitgeist. RUDD SPLINTER RIGHT PHOTO: PHOTO:

Above (clockwise from top left): Richard Hutten’s iconic Table Chair; Droog store in Amsterdam; Dirk Vander Kooij’s Endless Chair design 44 | FEATURES

Established players such as Droog are changing their ways, too. ‘Over the past two years, we’ve focused on work that makes positive changes in the city,’ explains Ramakers. ‘Our approach is anti-disciplinary and our projects can materialise in anything that contributes to society and quality of life.’ One of these schemes involves turning a dark and threatening pedestrian underpass into a welcoming and cosy arcade studded with coffee stalls and ice-cream vendors. Aside from taking a moral stance, with sustainability at its core, the designers of Holland also have hi-tech prowess. and Dirk Vander Kooij’s 3D-printing techniques are making waves internationally. Zaandam-based Vander Kooij is best known for transforming a Chinese industrial robot into a 3D printer, which assists him in creating pieces such as lamps, vases and his Endless Chair, made In the past few decades, Dutch design may have evolved to become more about purpose than tangible form, but there’s certainly no shortage of suitcase-friendly objects to buy

Above (from top): Tamara Orjola’s Forest Wool furniture; Dirk Vander Kooij with his Endless robot PHOTO: RIGHT GERARD VAN HEES the waste produced by the studio. gigantic press is used to take care of has now joined the family, while a made of plastic.’ Robot number two layer – one wouldn’t expect to be robot, I’ve created objects – layer by Vander Kooij. ‘With the help of our cheap and breakable products,’ says perception that it produces only wanted to change the general with recycled synthetics, and I plastic. ‘I’ve always been fascinated from strings of old refrigerator Droog by Tejo Remy;jugsby Piet HeinEek,available at The Frozen Fountain Above (clockwisefromtople tables,’ chunky says Vander Kooij. happy with and it turns them into ‘We feed the press chairs we’re not Dutch design may have evolved ): detailofDirk Vander Kooij’s Endless Chairdesign;Milkbo global design history celebration of a major chapter in in museums across the world as a housed are rest to buy – the available partnership with Tejo Remy in 1991, Chest of Drawers, created in there are still a few examples of bicycle carriers. She also tells us that her store, made from traditional Droog’s Strap storage solution from Ramakers personally recommends Fountain, for instance, while Jongerius’s pots at The Frozen You’ll find Eek’s ceramic jugs and of suitcase-friendly objects to buy. tangible form, but there’s no shortage to become more about purpose than SHOP le Lampfor

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