Asian Designers

Young designers from the

East are increasingly drawn to Eindhoven’s design scene

Despite a size that is tiny by global standards (if, at 230,000 inhabitants, large by Dutch ones) and a somewhat gloomy aspect, the Dutch city of Eindhoven is home to one of Europe’s most esteemed and creative design schools: Design Academy Eindhoven. Its reputation and strong focus on artistic expression over functionality attract designers from around the world, including many from Asia, who make up an Eastern community far from home.

The city itself is inseparable from its design history. Once light bulb manufacturer Philips was founded there, what was once a small town became an increasingly industrial city. Now it is home to an expanding design scene; in every seemingly abandoned industrial building a designer resides. And it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Academy catalysed this new wave of creativity. Founded in 1955, the country’s oldest design school has seen renewed international attention over the last eight years thanks to the buzz generated by its graduates. About 13 per cent of those graduates per year are from Asia, a sign that in a city without the cosmopolitan appeal of London, Paris or Amsterdam, Design Academy Eindhoven must be doing something right.

Zavier Wong is an undergraduate student who left Singapore three years ago to study at the Academy. ‘I got to know about Eindhoven because of Lanzavecchia and Wai and Hans Tan — two studios set up in Singapore by Singaporeans who had graduated from the Academy,’ Wong explains. ‘It was very interesting to see how different and unique their approach was in comparison to others in the country. I wondered how a school could transform a person like that.’

Wong found out first-hand. After graduating from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore he left for Eindhoven. ‘At Ngee Ann, the process was more linear. First you examine the user process, then the market, after that you sketch, and so on. Designing felt like ticking boxes and the results all looked similar: industrial and futuristic.’ In Eindhoven, designers are urged to experiment. Artistic freedom reigns, and failure is equally as interesting as success. ‘To be able to experiment you need to allow for uncertainty. Uncertainty becomes valuable,’ says Wong.

Wong’s designs are likely the antithesis of what he would create in Singapore: raw, artistic and quasi-dysfunctional. For a recent series of objects he used a plasma cutter to create organic holes and welding joints on steel. ‘Usually a plasma cutter is used to cut very precise shapes,’ he says. ‘I pushed it to its limits.’

Chinese designer Hongjie Yang shares Wong’s attitude. ‘It’s the boldness of Eindhoven that intrigues me,’ he says. Having originally studied industrial design in the US, he flourished in Eindhoven. ‘In Eindhoven, I tell the teachers I’m going to cast two hundred kilograms of metal without having a clear idea and they’re okay with it,’ he laughs. In this city, innovation and industry are linked. Beeldenstorm, for instance, is a foundry that invites young designers to experiment. Here,