The Evoluon is for sale. The ideal moment, according to Provinciale Staten van Brabant, for a plea to establish a national museum for design there. A motion to this effect was adopted by a large majority on Friday afternoon.
The provincial government is now going to urge the Minister of Culture, Ingrid van Engelshoven, to establish such a museum. For years already, Eindhoven has been pointing out that no national museum is located below the major rivers. The establishment of a National Design Museum could change this.
(Drawing of Winy Maas for the redevelopment of the city center, with the suggestion to move the Evoluon to the city center. Read more about it here)
The motion also calls on those involved to “enter into consultation with Philips, the municipality of Eindhoven, Design Academy and other partners such as ASML”. The political parties of VVD, SP, D66, PvdA, GroenLinks, 50PLUS, Party for the Animals and Local Brabant voted in favour. CDA, PVV and CU/SGP didn’t support it.
The motion finds that Eindhoven is the ideal city for such a museum, as witnessed by the success of Dutch Design Week, among other things. “The Evoluon is one of the most iconic buildings in Eindhoven, the Brainport region, Brabant and the Netherlands. It was conceived as a place where technology, innovation, and design was shown to the people. Design is one of the profiling points of the Brainport region, a museum at a national level can contribute significantly to the profile and image of the region.”
The authors of the initiative also expect that a national design museum will improve both the business climate and the tourist attractiveness of the city. In addition, the museum could prevent the wrong parties from taking the wrong steps with the Evoluon: “The Evoluon appears to be a sought-after object which also ignites ideas that are not enhancing the region’s profile.”