Dutch Delights
Why is Dutch design so good?
How can the Netherlands - a small, crowded country with an economy roughly 4% the size of the US - be so influential in design? The nation that has gifted the world wooden clogs and miniature pancakes (poffertjes - a must try) has also given us exceptional urban design, world class architecture and graphic design so good that it makes the Swiss weep with jealousy. Above all, it is in the field of furniture and product design where the Dutch have punched far above its weight.
Why is Dutch design so good? First there is the immutable influence of nature. With much of its land below sea level, the government and communities of the Netherlands are accustomed to working together and finding creative solutions to fight the continuous encroachment of the sea. This so called polder model fosters collaboration and consensus, creating an egalitarian society willing to compromise for the greater good. Some say this promotes conformity - the sworn enemy of creativity - but it has also created an extraordinarily stable and prosperous society. The Netherlands is also remarkably open to external trade and cultures (essential for a small nation with an impenetrable language dominated by larger, often hostile neighbours), which breeds a high level of tolerance. Add to the mix a deep artistic heritage (from Rembrandt and Vermeer to Mondrian and van Gogh) and you have the perfect environment for creatives to thrive in. All this is supercharged by the Design Academy Eindhoven - for my money the best design university in the world (especially for undergraduates) and the alma mater of pretty much all the best known Dutch designers.
The result is an exceptionally deep talent pool with a unique design style - highly original, slightly quirky but grounded in pragmatism - that has been hugely influential. This is especially so during the golden age of Dutch design in the early years of the new millennium when Dutch designers bestrode the global design stage with a confident swagger.
The polymathic Marcel Wanders, famous for riffing on traditional design motifs with a witty contemporary twist, has designed (almost) everything from furniture and lighting to perfumes, tiles, luggage, tableware and interiors for some of the best known brands in the world (Alessi, KLM, Cappellini, Christofle, Flos, Hyatt Hotels, Poliform, Moooi and more).
Piet Hein Eek is the godfather of upcycled wood furniture and was largely responsible for popularising the shabby-chic aesthetic of decorating with found objects.
Maarten Baas set the design world on fire with his Smoke series of classic furniture which he burns to a crisp before preserving in epoxy. His works are highly sought after and are in the permanent collections of MOMA in New York and the Design Museum in London.
Job Smeets (better known as Studio Job) is the high priest of decorative design, drawing on popular culture and traditional craftsmanship to create highly expressive works that straddle the border between art and design. Sticklers may point out that Smeets is actually Belgian, but since he is based in the Netherlands and is an alumnus of the Design Academy Eindhoven we can count him as an honorary Nederlander. You can certainly tell by his sense of humour that he is as Dutch as it gets.
Hella Jongerius gave us modern classics such as the Polder Sofa for Vitra whilst Tord Boontje gave us the Garland Light (originally designed for Habitat), bringing floral decoration up to date for the 21st century.
Joris Laarman gave organic designs a retro-futuristic spin with his Bone Chair and Heatwave radiator. He is also a pioneer in 3D printing, having created the first 3D printed stainless steel bridge by using a machine which combines a robotic arm with a metal welder.
The bridge originally spanned a canal in Amsterdam but had to be removed a few years later after residents complained that the ultra modern design didn’t fit the local area. Given the area in question is the red light district perhaps the bridge would have survived if it had incorporated windows with red curtains.
Ineke Hans is a prolific designer and an early champion of sustainable materials. Her designs have a bold, chunky aesthetic leavened with a touch of humour. Her studio is also unusual for producing many of her designs in-house.
Many of Bertjan Pot’s designs come from his experiments with materials. His most famous design - the Random Light for Moooi - is made with glass fibre yarns wound randomly around a large balloon, a deceptively simple concept that took him three years to develop. An accomplished textiles designer, Bertjan Pot also has a quirky sideline in making masks with rope, an idea which came from his experiments with making carpets by stitching ropes together.
Richard Hutten was a leading light of Droog, the avant garde design collective which kick-started the Dutch design wave. His Dandelion Lamp for Moooi is one of the most copied lighting designs in recent history. You might also recognise his iconic Dombo Mug, which has been praised for its ease of use by toddlers, the elderly and disabled. More importantly, as the designer pointed out, it made people smile when they use it. It would be hard to find a better exemplar of Dutch design excellence.
The golden age of Dutch design may have passed - the global financial crisis didn’t help - but the influence of Dutch designers remains strong. However, you are now more likely to spot the new wave of Dutch talent such as Sabine Marcelis and Teun Zwets at leading design art galleries in New York or Paris than on the rosters of designers at leading furniture brands. At times of constrained resources perhaps thought-provoking, artistic designs have become a luxury? Now that’s an interesting topic for another article.
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Talking genius and simple Dutch design and Droog - anybody remembering the brilliant SUCKER ?!
https://shop.droog.com/product/sucker/