ROTTERDAM.- Starting today, the exhibition Designing the Netherlands: 100 Years of Past and Present Futures can be seen at Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. The exhibition is curated in collaboration with the Board of Government Advisors - the independent advisory board on spatial quality for the Dutch central government - and celebrates the rich history and potential futures of architecture, spatial planning and design in shaping the Netherlands.

At a time when housing, ecological and social challenges are at the forefront of national debate, the exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the National Collection of Dutch architecture and urban planning, which is held by the Nieuwe Instituut, presenting important historical precedents alongside new design proposals. Together, they offer much-needed inspiration for how architecture and planning can provide new visions for the country.

In response to societal challenges such as climate change, housing, energy transition, and social justice, the spatial planning of the Netherlands is once again in the spotlight for governments, architects and the public. With Designing the Netherlands, Nieuwe Instituut and the Dutch Board of Government Advisors celebrate the long and influential tradition of architecture, spatial planning and design in the country, searching for answers to the current urgencies.

How did designers of the past deal with the challenges of their time? What solutions did they envision, and what world views lay behind them? By linking the present, past, and future, Designing the Netherlands demonstrates how we can draw inspiration from the past to tackle the issues that confront us today.

100 years of National Collection of Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning

The exhibition comprises numerous examples of work drawn from the Nieuwe Instituut’s National Collection of Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, serving as a tribute to the 100th anniversary of this collection in 2023. Nieuwe Instituut manages the approximately seven hundred archives in this collection, totaling around 4 million items, including sketches, preliminary designs, working drawings, business and personal correspondence, photos, models, posters, and collected clippings and magazine articles, making it one of the largest architecture collections in the world.

Designing the Netherlands includes work by well-known architects and urban planners such as Gerrit Rietveld, Piet Blom, Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), and Herman Hertzberger, but also that of less well-known practitioners. They unfold their ideas for a future society through inspiring and sometimes provocative proposals.

Collaboration with the Board of Government Advisors

The exhibition is a collaboration with the Board of Government Advisors, a multidisciplinary advisory board that, from an independent position, advises ministers on current social tasks and environmental quality through the use of design power. For the exhibition, the Board has drawn from recent work; from design competitions for bio-based homes and refugee housing, as well as participants of its ‘Young Innovators’ program, in which young, talented (landscape) architects and urban planners focus on significant spatial challenges such as repurposing, energy transition, new cultural landscapes, and water management.

Says Aric Chen, General and Artistic Director, Nieuwe Instituut: “The Netherlands has a storied history of architecture and planning, while at the same time, we are facing familiar challenges around housing, land use, the environment, and social equity. On the 100th anniversary of our collection of Dutch architecture and urban planning, now is the perfect time to bring together the knowledge of the past with the imagination of the present. Together, they form a powerful combination for looking at the future.”

Says Francesco Veenstra, Chief Government Architect: "The challenges we face now require looking far ahead. Not to paint beautiful vistas, but to find out what needs to be done now. Designers play a crucial role in envisioning the future, and change begins with imagination. Everything we think, say, and do influences what that future will look like. What we cannot imagine, we cannot accomplish. This exhibition provides inspiration for the future, by looking at the past. The fate of future generations is in our hands. The 22nd century begins now."