Loan to the Design Museum Den Bosch: Designing the Nation State Loan to the Design Museum Den Bosch: Designing the Nation State

Most of the objects loaned by the Nieuwe Instituut are on display in the themed section, States of the Imagination. Here, the world beyond the nation-state is explored. Organisations such as the EU and the UN represent the dream of ‘internationalism’. Malkit Shoshan’s proposal and the designs for the Peace Palace are examples of attempts to realise that dream.

UN peacekeeping missions are active all over the world. These military bases are often self-sufficient islands, cut off from their immediate surroundings. The compounds reflect the power structures and systems of the peacekeeping army and contribute hardly anything to improving the lives of the local inhabitants.

In 2015, Malkit Shoshan, a designer and research fellow at the Nieuwe Instituut, conducted research into the architecture of UN peacekeeping missions. The way in which the Netherlands’ approach to these operations is known as the 3D approach: Defence, Diplomacy and Development. The premise is that peace cannot be enforced by military power alone, but is only sustainable when security, political dialogue and development are addressed simultaneously. Consider the mission in Uruzgan, where military action went hand in hand with reconstruction projects.

However this 3D or Dutch approach is not always successful or effective in practice. Shoshan therefore proposed adding a fourth D, for Design. The models shown in Designing the Nation State are part of a critical analysis of the architecture of UN bases, and of her proposal to use design to improve these bases’ relationships with local communities.

A key aspect of this is ensuring that the base’s design anticipates its transfer to the local population once the mission concludes. Using local techniques during construction, for instance, enables the structures to blend into the existing environment more effectively and be maintained by the local population.

These models formed part of the BLUE: Architecture of UN Peacekeeping Missions exhibition, which was the Dutch entry at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. They were subsequently included in the Nieuwe Instituut collection.

Located in The Hague, the Peace Palace is a global symbol of the pursuit of world peace through law and diplomacy. It is the seat of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, as well as other institutions.

In 1906, 216 architects took part in an open international competition to design this ambitious and prestigious building. An international jury, chaired by Pierre Cuypers, selected six winning designs. Louis Marie Cordonnier was awarded the first prize and became the architect. However, not everyone agreed with this choice. In the fierce architectural debate that followed, the announcement, there were also advocates for more innovative architects, such as Wagner, Saarinen, Greenley & Olin and Berlage. Ultimately, though, the jury opted for Cordonnier’s Baroque design, which, in all its extravagance, was far too expensive. The Dutch architect Van der Steur was tasked with simplifying the design as ‘executive architect’.

“Due to its location, size and architectural quality, the Peace Palace is a building of un-Dutch grandeur. That was precisely the intention. Rather than simply housing a judicial organisation, the project was about embodying an idea. In its early years, the court lacked the authority of an international legal institution, but this was amply compensated for by the building’s imposing character, artistic decoration and exuberant symbolism.” (Jelle Hellinga, The Peace Palace)

The perspective drawings of five of the six prize-winning designs remained at the Peace Palace, and these have been loaned to the Nieuwe Instituut for the long term, together with other archival materials, by the Carnegie Foundation, which owns and manages the Peace Palace.

Designing the Nation State is on view at the Design Museum Den Bosch from 18 April to 20 September 2026. Other objects loaned by the Nieuwe Instituut come from the archives of H. P. Berlage, J. J. P. Oud and J. F. Staal, as well as the library collection.