"Backward Boys And Subnormal Girls" "Backward Boys And Subnormal Girls"

How do you design a living space for someone who cannot indicate their specific housing needs or wishes? How can a safe and stable living environment be created for people with intellectual disabilities? This edition of Archive Explorations looks at various types of housing designed for this group in the State Archive for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning.

The event will also look at the terminology that has been used over time; in 1914, for example, Het Huis Oud & Nieuw referred to the expansion of an institution 'for subnormal girls in Druten', and the magazine Bouw wrote in 1967 about a home for 'working, backward boys'. We would no longer choose such words, which jar with the idea of creating a safe living environment. But, in spite of such qualifications that typified the spirit of the time, how was a suitable and safe house, family home or closed institution designed? What did architects take into account and what considerations did they make?

A selection from the archives of Het Nieuwe Instituut shows how this design assignment has been fleshed out over time. Through archival material and the contributions of various speakers, the event sketches a picture of the development of housing for mentally disabled people.

Containing the collections of some of the most important architects and urban planners in the Netherlands, the State Archive for Architecture and Urban Planning provides an insight into the development of Dutch architecture and society over the past 130 years. Each item in the collection of the four million drawings, sketches, models, professional and personal correspondence, photos, posters and news clippings has a story to tell. But many of these stories have remained untold because nobody has yet uncovered them. For the series of evenings entitled Archive Explorations we invite a range of people to undertake a journey of discovery in the archive in order to introduce new perspectives.

Before the Thursday Night you can grab a bite to eat with the speakers and staff of Het Nieuwe Instituut. At 18:00 Het Nieuwe Café will serve a light vegetarian meal. Dinner vouchers are available for ¬ 7.70 up to a day before the particular Thursday Night event via the Tickets link.

Become a Member of Het Nieuwe Instituut and you'll support our mission to navigate the vast and evolving field of design. You'll also be inspired by our special program of Members' events, meeting up with other like-minded people as we invite you to reflect with us on design's changing role in technology, economics, culture and society.