The Future of Design Archives

The Louis Kalff Instituut and the Network Archives Design and Digital Culture (NADD) are organising a symposium on The Future of Design Archives during Dutch Design Week. Archives are living histories that carry innovation, creativity and identity. They contain the stories, ideas and tools that define design and culture in the Netherlands to this day.

During the symposium, Robert van Rixtel (LKI, Dutch Design Daily) will talk to Bas Pruyser, the designer of the most famous waste bin in the Netherlands, about what motivated him to recently throw away a large part of his archive. Designers Ineke Hans and Floris Hovers will also talk about the challenges they face in preserving years of design processes, as well as how design archives can be preserved in a future-proof manner and the problems involved in doing so.

In addition, Timo de Rijk (director of Design Museum Den Bosch) will speak with designer Miriam van der Lubbe and Aukje Bolle (managing director of Nieuwe Instituut) about the importance of a heritage policy for design archives. How do archives contribute to the design of the future and why is it sometimes so difficult to properly preserve these valuable sources of information?

Programma

13:30 – Doors open
14:00 – Welcome and introduction to LKI & NADD (Auditorium)
14:15 – Conversations with designers about their archives (Auditorium)
15:00 – Panel discussion on heritage policy and preservation (Auditorium)
15:30 – Room for questions (Auditorium)
15:45 – Drinks at the Van Abbe café
17:00 – End

Over Louis Kalff Instituut (LKI)

The Louis Kalff Instituut is the heritage centre for industrial design archives, located in Eindhoven.

Over NADD

NADD stands for Network Archives Design and Digital Culture and is a growing network of museums, creators, archives, designers, researchers and collectives. By combining forces within the network, NADD makes design and digital culture archives visible, accessible and future proof.

Praktische informatie

When: 23 October 2025 (during Dutch Design Week)
Time: 14:00 – 17:00, doors open at 13:30
Where: Auditorium Van Abbemuseum
Language: Dutch
Order your ticket via the button on this page