The Netherlands attends Beijing Design Week for fourth consecutive year

(source: Royal Dutch Embassy in Beijing, China)

‘HLN - Reinventing the Future Together: Alternative Strategies for Better City Life - The Netherlands at Beijing Design Week 2014 - and beyond' this is the title and subtitles of the Dutch participation this year at the annual Beijing Design Week (BJDW) and immediately provides a sense of what the programme is about.

The Netherlands strongly believes in the BJDW platform. The Dutch participation in 2014 aims to connect to large social movements concerning design and urbanism in China and therefore it brings together some of the most creative and progressive minds in design from China and the Netherlands. In 2014 the Netherlands participates for the fourth consecutive year strengthening its collaborative engagement in a 3-year partnership lasting into 2016. HLN (Holland/Helan), the overall umbrella title, takes its cue from the various BJDW Design Hop sections and their abbreviations (for instance Dashilar is DSL, Caochangdi is CCD etc.), and in this way creates an additional ultra-embedded virtual location that manifests itself around Beijing.

The HLN programme focuses on better and smarter cities. Creating more sustainable cities with a better quality of life demands the kind of urban design that combines long-term thinking with interdisciplinarycollaboration in an integrated approach. Smart, large-scale urban solutions with this essential approach can be seen in six of the ten projects listed below. Yet working towards smarter cities and better lives involves more than urban design, it can also be done by other, smaller-scale design disciplines and bottom-up initiatives, the other projects in the line up make a very strong case for this.

In essence the HLN programme focuses on what can be gained from matching Chinese and Dutch expertise in collaborative creative partnerships jointly working towards a more sustainable future.

The projects lined up for this year's design week and that comprise the HLN programme are as follows:

 

Towards 2050: Developing a Sino-Dutch Approach to Sustainable

Urbanisation by VenhoevenCS, Creative Industries Fund NL, Tsinghua University and Beijing Institute of Architectural Design

This will be a 2-week workshop with a large group of specially matched Chinese and Dutch experts focussing on Transit Oriented Development and taking on a specific assignment for the design of the Beijing Qinghe station area. Presentations and lectures will take place to share the results with the public. (For details, please refer to the PDF file attached below.)

 

798 FUTURE UNDERGROUND

MARS and MORE Architecture in collaborations with many others including Moujiti digital media studio, OMA Office for Metropolitan Architecture and Rockbund Art Museum

This is a research project that will manifest itself in a three day workshop with public lectures, discussions and presentations looking at the development of creative clusters in China taking 798 art district as its main case, bringing together Chinese and Dutch architects, digital media strategists, designers, economists and museum managers.

 

Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam x BJDW FILMS

This will be the first edition if an intended long-term collaboration between AFFR and the new BJDW films section. Lined up are three days of the best films on architecture and design with in-depth debates coinciding with a three-day urban film workshop.

 

The Smog Project

Studio Roosegaarde

A long-term project of the Studio, the Smog project is set to take place over a span of several years and aims to set up a movement to enhance awareness and propose solutions for Beijing's most ubiquitous problem: Smog.

 

Beijing Productive Voids

NAUTA Architecture & Research and Tenio Institute

Dutch office Nauta together with their Chinese partners aim to present their most recent research project on the empty and unused urban spaces of Beijing proposing that agriculture may be the best solution.

 

waa Project Space

we architech anonymous (in PINGOD)

Chinese and International architecture practice 'waa' with partners Di Zhang, Jack Young and Dutch partner Ruben Bergambagt will launch their new project space with a special focus on one of their latest designs - The Yinchuan Art Museum.

 

Dust Included

Ubi Gallery

An exciting new exhibition in Beijing's unique jewelry and ceramics gallery Ubi, featuring highly innovative dust absorbing hats by Elisabeth Koch and many more pieces exploring the theme of 'dust'.

 

Joy Luck Pie Club

Studio Henny van Nistelrooy

Beijing based Dutch interior and product designer Henny van Nistelrooy decided to engage a little differently with his public this year byserving scrumptious home-baked pies with a Chinese twist based on his mother's traditional recipe. All this will be served in an exclusively designed space that brings a twist to hutong furniture and the hutong setting.

 

BB.Suit: Wearable Air Cleaning

Studio Eva de Laat, ByBorre and Eindhoven University of Technology

A unique and highly innovative collaborative project that presents a newly developed wearable technology. The “BB Suit” is a smart textile garment that uses air purification and filtering technologies to clean the air around the wearer. Since our clothing is constantly in contact with the air surrounding us, and the surface area of the clothing worn by people is enormous; it creates an opportunity to clean polluted air.

 

IN A SIMPLIFIED WORLD

LAVA

Part of the BJDW Dashilar pilot projects, Beijing based graphic design office LAVA present a project that looks at the symbolism of Chinese characters. At the same time look out for the new BJDW website and guidebook that have both received a fresh new look courtesy if LAVA.

 

* Beside these individual projects there are also some unique events lined up - the HLN events.

The Netherlands Embassy jointly with all its partners hosts a series of gatherings which bring together all the above participants in a shared discussion platform. HLN events are a mobile ‘Dutch Section’ and take place in conjunction with the BJDW opening days in DSL, TGL and 751. Beside serious discussion this is also the place to share a drink and receive the latest updates. Discussions are curated by Christine de Baan, former DDFA director and key expert on the Dutch creative industries.

HLN events take place on: 25, 26 and 27 September 2014. For up to date details please keep an eye on our website or the official Netherlands Embassy Wechat account.

HLN onward - The HLN programme and selection of projects have grown out of various initiatives and aim by means of the BJDW platform to further develop and test ideas in order to arrive at the next level in BJDW 2015, in an even more matured and comprehensive programme, stay tuned for this year and next!