From 18 – 26 October 2025, Eindhoven once again becomes a playground for design as Dutch Design Week (DDW25) celebrates its 25th edition under the theme Past. Present. Possible. For nine days, the city transforms into a living lab where more than 2,500 designers, design schools, ministries, and global brands explore how design shapes the future. Spread across 120 venues, DDW stands among the world’s most influential design events.

This 25th anniversary edition will draw around 350,000 visitors from the Netherlands and abroad. The city will hum with creative energy, featuring major names such as HEMA and Vattenfall. Esteemed designers including Sabine Marcelis, Stefan Diez, Piet Hein Eek, and Kiki & Joost will exhibit alongside emerging talent from 35 European design schools. Under the collective title Class of 25, institutions such as Design Academy Eindhoven, the Swedish School of Textiles, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna will present the next generation of innovators.

Discover Dutch Design Week 2024

Programme Highlights

Bridging Minds | Van Abbemuseum

The Van Abbemuseum presents Bridging Minds, an exhibition of 100 works by leading designers and artists curated by DDW co-founder Miriam van der Lubbe. The show features Klarenbeek & Dros, Maarten Baas, Jalila Essaïdi, Formafantasma, Hella Jongerius, and Marcos Kueh. Each work explores how design connects people, disciplines, and ideas, turning reflection into tangible impact.

Grand Projects | Across the City

Large-scale installations return with Grand Projects, DDW’s outdoor exhibition of monumental works across Eindhoven. Some reach ten metres high, transforming public spaces into immersive environments. Designers including Pauline van Dongen and Thijs Biersteker contribute striking installations that merge art, architecture, and sustainability.

Signature and Collectible Objects: Forward Furniture | De Caai

A former factory hall in De Caai district becomes a stage for collectible design. Curated by Liv Vaisberg, Forward Furniture explores the evolution of furniture through an aesthetic lens. The exhibition celebrates craftsmanship, innovation, and the dialogue between functionality and art.

Step into 2050, in 2025

Dutch Design Week is not a showcase of finished products but a gathering place for ideas in progress. It welcomes experimentation, doubt, and collaboration. Expect daring projects exploring climate solutions, AI experiments, and sustainable materials.

At DDW25, the future isn’t something to anticipate—it’s something to create together.

Creating Greater Impact Together

Design thrives through collaboration. DDW25 works with brands such as Brabantia, Hydro, Sweco, Rabobank, Accenture, HEMA, Vattenfall, and mobility partner Xpeng to push innovation with purpose.

Government ministries, including Education, Culture and Science; Home Affairs; Health, Justice and Security; and Defence, will highlight how design can tackle social challenges. Key partners such as Nieuwe Instituut, Waag Futurelab, Stimuleringsfonds, ClickNL, and Trudo contribute to building an ambitious and inspiring programme.

Design enhances daily life while addressing global issues—from climate change and social inequality to emerging technologies. The curatorial approach behind Bridging Minds focuses on action and contribution rather than reflection. Each selected piece demonstrates how design drives transformation and shapes the future.

Eindhoven itself plays a central role as the Netherlands’ design capital—a place where technology, design, and knowledge converge.

Ten Rooms, Ten Themes

Bridging Minds spans ten rooms in the Old Building of the Van Abbemuseum, each devoted to a theme illustrating what design means for individuals and society.

One space explores safety and protection, featuring work by Jalila Essaïdi and Bas Timmer. Another examines the relationship between humans and technology, with pieces by László Moholy-Nagy and Ricky van Broekhoven transforming tech into sensory experience.

Elsewhere, designs by Alissa+Nienke and Dan Graham address care and well-being through smart tools, unconventional materials, and soothing forms. The remaining rooms investigate connection, inclusion, empowerment, innovation, nature, raw materials, and freedom—together offering a panoramic view of contemporary design.

Eleven Outdoor Installations Across Eindhoven

During Dutch Design Week 2025 (18–26 October), Eindhoven becomes an open-air gallery once again. Across its central squares and public spaces, eleven large-scale installations by international designers take shape. Each explores how design fuels social imagination and inspires radical futures—from generating new forms of energy to rethinking emergency housing.

The installations emerged from an open call that allowed the design community to define its own priorities. The result is a citywide exhibition that connects professionals and the public, creating space for experimentation and discovery.

Freely accessible throughout Eindhoven, the works invite everyone to engage directly with design. Highlights include:

Econario by Thijs Biersteker

How political choices ripple through nature
A data-driven installation that makes political decision-making visible, Econario shows how today’s policies affect tomorrow’s ecosystems, translating abstract issues into tangible experiences.

The Umbra Pavilion by Pauline van Dongen

Textiles as solar generators
A flowing pavilion made from solar textile (Heliotex) produces energy while casting shade. The Umbra Pavilion envisions a future where energy generation integrates seamlessly into everyday environments.

Factory 5.0 by Aditya Mandlik

Worms that dismantle buildings
Ten thousand mealworms consume polystyrene in Factory 5.0, redefining architecture as something designed to decompose. The project challenges ideas about permanence, circularity, and ecological repair.

City At Sea Level by Bahar Orçun

A submerged future
A sunken cityscape reveals the consequences of rising sea levels. City At Sea Level immerses visitors in a stark vision of the world shaped by climate inaction.

The Waiting Room by Nanne Brouwer

Dignity in emergency accommodation: privacy is rare in asylum shelters, where residents often share bedrooms. The Waiting Room proposes a humane alternative for temporary housing built on personal space and dignity, questioning how society treats vulnerable groups.

Why Visit?

Dutch Design Week is more than an exhibition—it’s a citywide experience of creativity, innovation, and imagination. Visitors encounter installations, talks, and live experiments that reveal how design influences every aspect of life.

Whether you’re a professional, a student, or simply curious, DDW25 offers a chance to explore ideas before they reach the mainstream and to see design as an active force for social progress.

Dutch Design Week, October 18-26, 2025

For professionals and general public, upon registration – (some events request entry fee)
Size: 2500+ designers, 100 venues, 350,000 visitors
Visit website ddw.nl for more info