Installation: de Philharmonie as Design Platform, Haarlem
The installation concept for the Philharmonie was developed together with the Philharmonie in Haarlem and van Dongen-Koschuch | Architects and Planners, and launched on the 14th of April 2015. The project continued yearly for a duration of four years.
Each year new designers are invited to share their work and stories as part of a Design Platform within the classical concert hall setting. The latest event took place on the 14th of February 2017, opening with a unique dance performance that utilized the design pieces, transforming them into interactive partners. Graduates included Jasser van Oort, de Intuitie Fabriek, Paul Ketz, Željka Zrnić, Joost Dankelman, Chan Chiao Chun, Ward Wijnant and Francoise Oostwegel. A new room was added to the platform, dedicated to local Haarlemmer designers Marianne Weiland, Annemieke Terstal and Maarten Barnhoorn. In its third year, the Philharmonie's Design Platform has also begun purchasing its favourite pieces as part of a unique permanent collection for public use.
The Philharmonie is a 11000m2 concert hall building, with two-hundred events per year and around 70,000 visitors, attending a range of events from local concerts to international conferences. Frits van Dongen, the former Rijksbouwmeester and architect of the last renovation was asked to develop a new interior concept that would make more use of the valuable cultural space and contribute to it’s “huiskamer” role in the city.
Considering the local role the Philharmonie plays as the "beating heart" of Haarlem, and its international role as an events space (for the likes of Microsoft) we asked the Philharmonie if they would be interested in doing a little more than replacing their old furniture, using a part of their yearly budget to add another layer of cultural activity to their programming. Our proposal split the interior concept into two parts. The first part; BASE pieces from established Dutch designers service the functional requirements of the space on a daily basis, and secondly SPECIALS, pieces from graduate Dutch Designers, creating a unique experience for event goers, attracting a new audience, and providing a platform for young creatives to promote and sell their work. The Philharmonie has been dedicated to the project for three years now and continues to expand its presence in public spaces and in the yearly program blurring the boundaries of the arts.
