Studio Makkink & Bey, Design Diorama: the Archive as a Utopic Environment Studio Makkink & Bey, Design Diorama: the Archive as a Utopic Environment

Under the auspices of the Agency for Architecture, Design and Digital Culture, Het Nieuwe Instituut is making a design contribution to the first edition of the London Design Biennale 2016 at Somerset House, 7 - 27 September 2016.

Het Nieuwe Instituut has invited Studio Makkink & Bey to curate and design the contribution. Studio Makkink & Bey were the ambassadors for Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in 2015 and this year designed the new interior for the European Council in Brussels. As a figurehead of Dutch design, the studio works with a network of talented designers. In its capacity as an informal platform for talented designers, artists and architects, Studio Makkink & Bey used its network-based practice to give form to the biennale's theme: Utopia by Design.

The installation Design Diorama: the Archive as a Utopic Environment translates Studio Makkink & Bey's international network into a diorama that is an idealised version of the personal salon of the studio's founders, Rianne Makkink and Jurgen Bey. The installation also functions as a personal archive of the practice's own work, objects by former studio assistants and interns and designers, artists and architects. An archive with endless potential for a possible future, with work by and memorabilia from designer Bertjan Pot; photographer Ari Versluis and stylist Ellie Uyttenbroek; artist Yvonne Dröge Wendel; designer Michou de Bruijn (senior designer at Studio Makkink & Bey) and illustrator Jan Rothuizen.

In addition to the installation, an online archive is developed to present the international network of Studio Makkink & Bey as an archive: www.designdiorama.com

Studio Makkink & Bey, founded in 2002, is led by architect Rianne Makkink and designer Jurgen Bey. The studio's work embraces public space, product design, architecture and exhibition design. With a strategic approach to design, the studio's team includes professionals from many different fields, forming alliances with other designers, architects and experts.