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Dutch architecture and Dutch architects are fashionable subjects in almost all national and international lifestyle and professional magazines. Designers like Rem Koolhaas, Ben van Berkel, Erick van Egeraat and Jo Coenen are the figureheads of a generation of internationally renowned architects. While they are rooted in the Netherlands’ two most important stylistics traditions – the traditionalist and the modernist, with all their variations, from the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid and the Forum architecture, to contemporary neo-modernism – their emergence came about in a typically Dutch setting: architecture schools and architecture courses at universities and applied science colleges, an extensive subsidy programme and a multitude of platforms as well as a, partly, government-led architecture policy.
Dutch design is more a mentality, in which the urge to experiment is often combined with independence, pragmatism and a propensity for being headstrong, rather than a style. When plaudits are bestowed upon the design platform Droog Design or designers like Marcel Wanders, Hella Jongerius or Maarten Baas, it is often overlooked abroad, and even here in the Netherlands, that something precedes this generally accepted characterisation. Dutch design is also a system of education, funding, organisations and media that allows this mentality to thrive.
In comparison to countries like France, Italy and England, the Netherlands doesn’t really have a fashion history it can boast about. Dutch designers followed what happened in France step by step until long after World War II. However, Dutch fashion has started to show a more distinct profile in recent years. Dutch fashion talent has its own style, which is known under the label ‘Dutch Modernism’.
The higher education system in the Netherlands is since 2002 based on a three-cycle degree system, consisting of a bachelor (BA), master (MA) and PhD tier.
Several Universities in the Netherlands offers Bachelors' and Masters' programmes in Architecture and related fields.
The Netherlands has six Academies of Architecture that offer part-time Master’s education in Architecture and Urban Design, some of which are linked to educational institutions that offer courses in other fields.
Several institutions offer other forms of Post-Graduate studies or explore specific related areas.
There’s a plethora of options when it comes to studying design in the Netherlands. To facilitate the overview, we have attempted to group the different options in various ways: by focusing on the different levels of education offered by various educational institutions and by focusing on sub-strands within the broader field of design.
The three technical universities all offer Bachelors’ and Masters’ programmes in Industrial design and related fields.
There's a range of Bachelors' pogrammes in Industrial and Product Design at universities of applied sciences.
In the past art schools used to be a separate strand in Dutch education. In recent years many of them have merged with institutions of applied sciences (hogescholen), where they provide a wide variety of Bachelors’ programmes in different design directions.
There are various Masters' and other post-graduate institutions that offer courses and programmes in design and closely related fields.
The design academy’s educational system differs from other educational institutions’.
Bachelors Programmes Fashion and a variety of related fields can be studied at a Bachelors' level at a variety of institutions: at universities for applied sciences, at art school (some connected to universities for applied sciences) and at several private institutions.
There is a limited amount of educational institutions in Europe that offer Masters' programmes for Fashion and related fields. The Netherlands has two.
Dutch Design, fashion and architecture are each in their own field supported by a wide range of prizes, awards and competitions. Their shortlists, lists of nominees and winners offer an excellent point of entry to find out who’s hot, new, up and coming or who has received acknowledgment for an entire body of work.
The following is an overview of the main prizes and awards in the Netherlands in the field of architecture.
The following is an overview of the most well-known prizes, awards and competitions in the Netherlands in the field of design and all its sub-disciplines.
Alongside the most prominent design prizes, there’s a wide range of local, regional, area-specific and smaller prizes. These include the following:
The following is an overview of the most well-known prizes, awards and competitions in the Netherlands in the field of fashion and all its sub-disciplines.
DDFA research: In August 2009, Glocal Strategy PR Consulting Co. Ltd. in Shanghai was commissioned by DutchDFA to conduct a zero measurement image study of Dutch design, fashion and architecture in China and India, to determine the current perception.
DDFA research: The Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in China conducted a cultural mapping of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for the disciplines design and architecture in 2009.
The Netherlands has a variety of funding bodies, some of which cover all areas when it comes to design fashion and architecture. Read more about the most prominent ones, to which practitioners and organisations who work with them can apply for support