Dutch Design Research Articles

The Eindhoven Acoustic Virtual Reality (EAVR) toolkit in education and beyond

The Eindhoven Acoustic Virtual Reality (EAVR) toolkit is an open-source software intended to teach undergraduate students in architecture principles in acoustics in an intuitive and interactive way. EAVR allows students to experience and interact with their 3D models in Virtual Reality (VR), by changing the materials of the surfaces and changing the size of the room in real time. Since its conception in 2019, EAVR has been employed in several courses at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where students (re)created various spaces, ranging from lecture halls to concert venues. Using students' feedback, an improved version of the toolkit, named EAVR-v2, was created and is presented in this paper. Two spin-off projects of this, a restaurant environment and a concert hall, were presented at the annual Dutch Design Week (DDW) in Eindhoven, which provided general insights in the usability of the toolkit. This paper presents several findings made while using EAVR in education as well as during the DDW. The findings indicate that students enjoy working with EAVR, and highlighted aspects that need improvement.

Exploring the Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen Through the Negotiations of Its Two Designers, Limperg and Zwart

During the interwar period, numerous endeavours were made to develop a rational kitchen, also called a laboratory kitchen, namely one that prioritised labour-saving efficiency through thoughtful layout and design. Catherine Beecher's work is often credited as its starting point. By synthesising household reformers' experiences and architects’ design expertise, scholars have extensively examined how rational kitchens evolved. This paper discusses the conception of the standardised Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen (1938) by the collaborative efforts of two designers with distinct yet complementary interior design profiles. Renowned Dutch designer Piet Zwart, widely recognised for his contributions, finalised the technical drawings and promotional materials for this iconic kitchen. Less acknowledged is the early involvement of Dutch architect Koen Limperg, son of a business economics professor, who drew the preliminary designs. Interestingly, this kitchen design was developed while body culture emerged in the Netherlands. Complementing already existing research from art history, anthropology, the history of technology, and gender studies, this paper, based on literature and archive research, investigates through an interior design lens how both designers integrated their respective practices and expertise into the Bruynzeel Kitchen's design, incorporating elements of physical activities (dance, gym, sports) and household economics.

Things, practices & policies: relationality and the early stages of the international promotion of Dutch design, 1920s–1970s

ABSTRACT This article takes a practice theory approach to explore the little-known history of the Dutch government practices that, between the early 1920s and mid 1970s, preceded explicit Dutch international cultural policy in organizing the promotion of the Dutch arts abroad. Advancing from an understanding of international cultural policy as a ‘hybrid’ (socio-material) practice of meaning production, it examines how those government agencies defined ‘Dutchness’ and ‘design’, and how the specificities of the things being promoted influenced those definitions. From this detailed empirical study, I propose a theorization of the relationship between policy, practices, and things as relational, meaning the understanding of things and policy as both shaping – and being shaped by – practices of international promotion. This theorization has broader relevance to cultural policy research since it suggests that policies and practices promoting different domains of culture may develop differently depending on the specificities of the artefacts that they seek to disseminate, and vice-versa.

The Eindhoven Phenomenon. History and Development of Dutch Design Week

This article analysis the unique character of the Dutch Design Week festival (DDW) in Eindhoven, emphasising its meaning as an event presenting experimental and critical approach to design. The text presents the change of Eindhoven from an industrial city into a centre for innovation and design, paying attention to the key events and persons who affected the festival development. Based on free interviews with five different recipients of the event and the analysis of available reports, the article provides a profile and motivations of participants, emphasising the social and cultural influence of the festival on design circles and local community. Moreover, the text sheds a light on problems and challenges the festival has faced, indicating the obstacles to its further development, and the ways in which the organisers and participants try to tackle them in order to continue its mission of supporting innovation and international creative dialogue. Keywords: design festival, design promotion, Eindhoven, Dutch Design Week, design exhibitions

Fashion as a cultural analysis object

I reflect upon working on diverse fashion(-related) cases in the context of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. Drawing on Mieke Bal’s understanding of cultural analysis (characterized by interdisciplinarity, among others), I refer to some fashion and material objects I have looked at (e.g. a contemporary video by a Dutch designer, a wardrobe-suitcase of 1919 or the pandemic mask), while insisting on considering them as theoretical objects through the practice of clothes-reading. Rather than establishing programmatic grids to study fashion, I share my observations and interrogations on working with and through fashion. What follows resembles an ongoing inventory of my fashion interests, aspirations and inspirations as well as choices and doubts that altogether echo the performative gesture of research.

Printing the weather: the language of rain as a source for an evolving print landscape.

Contemporary printmaking has introduced unusual combinations of techniques and materials, extreme scales or incorporation into three-dimensional constructions. While some printmakers remain faithful to traditional printing techniques, others have begun to extend practices towards an expanded field, in which printmaking enters into dialogues with other and non-human languages. In this article I investigate the intersection of printmaking and rain in the work of Dutch designer Aliki van der Kruijs. Developing a technique she termed ‘pluviagraphy’ to record visually rain events at particular coordinates of time-space, her ‘Made by Rain’ series probes the relations between weather, matter, colour, time and space. Looking across the prints featured in this article, the question arises how falling rain as part of the material world becomes part of that recorded world when registered as a mark on a surface. Further, how printmakers might work with different surfaces to begin to probe such questions. A key concern of van der Kruijs practice is the reframing of printmaking as a liminal site of interdisciplinarity in the context of examining the surfaces between adjacent disciplines. This manifests in a visual conversation informed by the rhythm of the rainfall and printmaking process. The result is an expanding body of research surrounding interdisciplinary practice, mark-making and how printmaking might function at the boundaries of other disciplines.

Storylines of the impacts in the Netherlands of alternative realizations of the Western Europe July 2021 floods

The 2021 summer flooding was an extremely rare event, driven by precipitation extremes that exceed Dutch design levels for flood protection of relatively small rivers and waterways. However, similar events in neighboring locations cannot be ruled out in the near future. The implications of such extreme rainfall amounts will vary by region, subject to local topography, water systems, and societal exposure. We explore the diversity of potential flood impacts induced by a similar event by constructing impact-oriented event storylines for characteristic water management regions in the Netherlands. The plausibility of the storylines is underlined by using physical evidence, proven impact-modelling concepts, and expert judgment successfully assessing the (sometimes unexpected) outcomes. The approach supports impact assessment and risk management of extraordinary rainfall and flood events. The outcomes show the relevance for crisis management and spatial policies, and confirms the need for in depth-analysis to assess concrete adaptation options

How different regional approaches to the network design result in key differences in burst event severity and failure vulnerability

Abstract The pipe burst response of an innovative Dutch water distribution network is compared to a traditional looped North American network. Dutch networks focus on water quality and use smaller diameter pipes in branches. The branched network discharges much less water after a burst, which may reduce local flooding, traffic disruption, and product loss. In addition, high velocities and transient pressures are shown to be much localized in the branched Dutch network after a burst, reducing the risks associated with the intrusion of contaminants. However, despite improved water quality, less water loss, and more localized transients, the branched network cannot meet water demands downstream of the burst until the pipe is repaired, unlike a traditional looped network. For modern buildings that meet current design guidelines, the Dutch are content with much lower fire-flow requirements that provide the flexibility to improve water quality and reduce the consequences of pipe bursts, especially water loss.

Digitally enriched museum experiences – what technology can do

ABSTRACT The recent pandemic crisis, coupled with the rapid development of new technologies, has shown what new opportunities exist for designing enriched museum experiences. In this article, we collected the experience of six Dutch design agencies that are known for their portfolio in applying new technologies to museum experiences, also internationally. We start by clarifying the concept of museum experience design. Then, we discuss the role technology can play in designing museum experiences. We first review the types of technology that were mostly used in museums in the pre-Covid period and clarify the purpose of their use. Subsequently, we elaborate on the trends that design agencies see as the most important developments emerging post-pandemic and reveal the dreams they have for future applications of technology in museum experiences.

A philosophical outing to Dutch Design Week

A philosophical outing to Dutch Design Week

THE "OLD ENGLISH GARDEN" AND THE SEARCH FOR A NEW STYLE IN THEORETICAL TREATISES OF THE LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

At the end of the 19th century, landscape architects in England began a discussion about the revival of the "old English garden". Each of them offered their own image of the olden times and their own way of the new realisation. Three options stand out among them. Reginald Blomfield advocated the "formal garden" and created forms in which the plant world was enclosed among laconic rectangular walls, pools and parterres. His opponent William Robinson put forward the idea of a "wild garden" in which regular parterres were replaced by sods of wild herbs. Harold Pito substantiated the type of a small regular garden in the frame of Italian architectural forms. The creative collaboration of architect Edwin Lutyens and florist Gertrude Jekyll provided examples of "rural" architecture using natural stone; there were rich combinations of shapes, textures and colours of flowering plants. All these searches took place at a turning point. Using the nostalgic pathos of the Arts and Crafts movement as a starting point, the architects set the stage for 20th-century landscape solutions, including the “herb garden” by contemporary Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

Intersection Sight Distance Requirements for Basic Turbo Roundabouts

Turbo roundabouts, emerging as a solution to conventional multilane roundabouts’ safety and operations concerns, are prevalent in Europe and are still new to North America. However, few studies and guidelines on intersection sight distance (ISD) requirements exist. This paper focuses on the basic turbo roundabouts, examines the circulatory roadway and approach design features, and develops ISD models with North American practices. The ISD requirements were identified for the vehicle approaching and entering the roundabout, which conflicts with the circulating vehicle in the circulatory roadways, and the entering vehicle at the upstream entry approach. Analytical models were developed to identify the required lateral clearance at the central island and clear sight triangles at the roundabout quadrants to satisfy the required ISD. The analyses were completed for four typical sizes of basic turbo roundabouts per Dutch design criteria. The design guidelines are provided for the required lateral clearance at the central island and the required clear sight triangles at the roundabout quadrants. They would be beneficial in establishing landscaping restrictions and determining the roadway right of way and property impacts at the intersections during the roadway planning stage.

Geogrid-anchored sheet pile walls; a small-scale experimental and numerical study

The use of geogrids to anchor Sheet Pile Walls (SPW) is relatively new. A series of small-scale tests was performed to investigate the behaviour of geogrid-anchored SPWs subjected to strip footing surcharge loading. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques were used to measure soil displacement and analyse the global failure mechanism and dominant soil-geogrid interaction mechanisms. One of the tests was duplicated in a test box that was eight times as wide, showing that the influence of the small width of the test box was acceptably small. A 2D finite element model (PLAXIS) was used to simulate the tests and there was a reasonable match with the test results. The position of the strip footing load, and the length and number of the geogrid anchors, proved to be key factors in determining the bearing capacity. The results provide new insights into the stabilising effect and the effective length of the geogrid anchors, in other words the length along which geogrid-soil friction is mobilised. Contrary to the Dutch design guidelines for reinforced soil walls and conventionally anchored sheet pile walls, the results showed that the geogrid provides resistance in the active zone under the strip footing surcharge loading.

From Tale to Tail: Unwinding the Twisted Life Story of PIG 05049

Pig 05049 is a book and research project by Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma that chronicles the many consumer products that were made from a pig called 05049. The book offers an insightful look into how this one animal, a single source, provides raw material for a vast number of everyday objects. Meindertsma’s clinical presentation of each laboriously researched object, page by page, organised by body part, follows the progress of the dissection of Pig 05049 and the subsequent use of each part. Some products, she found, are expected and familiar, whilst other diverge dramatically: ammunition, medicine, photo paper, cigarettes, conditioner, and bio diesel. PIG 05049 is currently in its 5th edition. The book won the Dutch Design Award in 2008 and the Index award in 2009 in the category Play. The article is a lightly edited transcript of a conversation between Commodity Frontiers editor, Maarten Vanden Eynde and Christien Meinderstma in September 2021.

Dutch Design: Practice Guidelines for Group Treatment in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT The American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) Practice Guidelines helped inspire the Dutch Group Therapy Association (NVGP) to develop the Dutch Practice Guidelines for Group Treatment. In this article, we provide a short review of the history of Dutch group psychotherapy. We discuss socioeconomic developments in the Netherlands and their consequences for health care in general and group psychotherapy in particular. After that, we introduce the procedures of the NVGP Dutch Task Force in developing their Practice Guidelines including their process to reach expert consensus. We then elaborate on the similarities and differences between the American and the Dutch Practice Guidelines. We end by presenting future directions and thoughts on international cooperation in the development of evidence-based practice guidelines for group treatment.

The safety of physically separated cycle tracks compared to marked cycle lanes and mixed traffic conditions in Amsterdam

Bicycle infrastructure is utilised to improve cycling safety and encourage bicycle use as a sustainable and healthy transport mode. This study sets out to assess whether providing physically separated cycle tracks along distributor roads, as prescribed in Dutch design guidelines and the Sustainable Safety vision, yields the expected safety benefits for cyclists. Therefore the safety of physically separated cycle tracks is compared to marked or painted cycle lanes and to mixed traffic conditions at distributor roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The study also includes the presence of the risk factors curbside parking and trams. Since police records are known to underreport single bicycle crashes and other crashes without a motor vehicle involved, ambulance records are used in this study instead. Also, both motor vehicle volumes as well as cyclists counts are taken into account in the crash analysis. By doing so, this study aims to address two weaknesses of previous research, i.e. the lack of control for exposure of cyclists and the use of police recorded crashes which miss the majority of bicycle crashes without motor vehicles. Results show that, controlled for kilometres travelled by bicycle and by motor vehicle, 50-60% less bicycle crashes occur on distributor roads with cycle tracks compared to those with cycle lanes. Curbside parking and trams are related to an increased likelihood of bicycle crashes, a difference of a factor 2 and 1.7-2 respectively. The authors therefore recommend to favour physically separated cycle tracks over cycle lanes and to take out curbside parking from the cross section as this presents the possibility to introduce cycle tracks in existing cross sections and mitigate an important risk factor concurrently.

Fractal Folds: The Posthuman Fashion of Iris van Herpen

3D printing technologies are among the new developments in fashion design. The Dutch designer Iris van Herpen is one of the forerunners of 3 D printing in fashion design. She is particularly known for her 3 D printed designs of “fractal folds”: designs of inimitable curves, bends, and loops. Morphing art, fashion and technology, she developed productive collaborations with scientists and artists. Through a mixed method, this article provides background information and gives insight into the design practice of the fashion house of Iris van Herpen in Amsterdam. Iris van Herpen combines highly technical specifications with a commitment to esthetic design. In her designs, she intertwines the digital and the material and the human and the non-human. Such intertwinements are characteristic of posthumanism that postulates a dynamic notion of life in which human bodies are inextricably entangled with the non-human—like fibers, silicones, garments, and technologies. The article interprets Van Herpen’s work within the context of posthuman theory, so as to make sense of its avant-garde esthetic. Out of innovative technologies, new materials, and assiduous craftsmanship, Van Herpen creates a visual and material language of fractal folds that expresses the affective mood of a posthuman world.

Visitor Flows at a Large-Scale Cultural Event: GPS Tracking at Dutch Design Week

Large-scale cultural events bring many economic, social, and cultural benefits to the hosting cities. Although event producers aim to satisfy the visitors’ needs, they do not usually receive feedback on visitors’ experiences. Moreover, lack of spatial dispersal of visitors might result in less visibility for some activities and locations. An understanding of visitors’ spatial and temporal behavior and the factors influencing visitors’ intra-event destination choices is key to efficient and successful event management and future planning. In this article, we examine the relationship between visitors’ spatial and temporal behavior, the spatial structure of the host city, and visitor characteristics. In order to do this, data are collected from 281 event visitors by means of GPS tracking and paper surveys at the Dutch Design Week (DDW) 2017 event in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Data are used to understand the area of interest locations, visitor flows, visitor clusters and area of interest choices by applying data processing, network analysis, cluster analysis and bivariate analysis. The results show that one of the three dedicated event areas was considerably less popular by the DDW visitors. Moreover, the choice of intra-event destination locations and areas depended mainly on temporal constraints of the visitors. The findings of this study can inform future event planning and management policies in hosting cities.

Olivetti ELEA Sign System: Interfaces Before the Advent of HCI

This paper uses the case of ELEA 9000, the first Olivetti computer series, to demonstrate the close relationship between industrial design, semiotics, ergonomics and the history of computing. A focus on the Olivetti ELEA series invites scholars to reconsider the history of computer interface design well before the emergence of HCI as a widely recognized field of research. The console and racks of the mainframe computer were designed in Italy by architect Ettore Sottsass Jr. (1917–2007) along with Dutch designer Andries van Onck (1928–2018) at the end of the 1950s. Aiming to launch the ELEA computer on the international market, Olivetti developed the idea of a visual language for human–computer interaction that could be learned by any operator, regardless of their native language. Sottsass and Olivetti assigned the task of designing this sign system to Tomas Maldonado (1922–2018), director of the Hochschule fur Gestaltung design school in Ulm, Germany. Together with Gui Bonsiepe (b. 1934), Maldonado designed a visual language that incorporated grammatical and syntactic reasoning. Later discarded, the sign system for ELEA prefigured the contemporary use of icons in computer interfaces.

Testing and initial verification of the world's first metal 3D printed bridge

Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a method of metal 3D printing that is suited to the requirements of the construction industry in terms of scale, speed and cost. Using this technology, a 10.5 m span footbridge, the first of its kind, has been printed. The testing, analysis and initial verification of the bridge and its components are described herein. The experiments performed included advanced geometric analysis, material testing, compressive testing of cross-sections and full-scale load testing of the bridge at various stages throughout and post construction. Parallel finite element modelling of the full bridge and its constituent elements has also been performed as part of the verification. Confirmation that the bridge was able to sustain its full serviceability design load enabled to the bridge to be unveiled to the public, with controlled access, for Dutch Design Week 2018. Further testing under ultimate limit state design loading is planned before the bridge is placed in its final location and fully opened to the public. The project highlights the potential for metal 3D printing in structural engineering, as well as the necessary considerations for design.