During Dutch Design Week, e52 will be introducing you to the festival’s Hidden Gems. Nine special designers who we feel are the stand-outs of this edition. A different Hidden Gem will enjoy the limelight each day of DDW. Today: Lotte Douwes with her ‘Collection Overview’
Lotte Douwes grew up in Groningen and moved to Eindhoven for her studies when she turned 28. In 2011 she graduated from the Design Academy’s Man and Living programme. One of her final projects was ‘De Dagkant als Ruimte’ (‘The Space of the Window Reveal’). The frame makes use of the thickness of the façade to create new space. Her other graduation project, Kitchen Levels, is both a kitchen and a dining table in one single design, bringing together the two areas of the home. Kitchen Levels invites you to dress the space around it.
Connection with space is an important theme in Lotte’s work. She noticed that people normally put everything on the floor in their living areas, but the ceiling, for example, can be functionally incorporated with the rest of the room to improve the feeling of spaciousness.
Lotte designed lamps and hanging sockets for above the dining table to ensure a flexible way to bring electricity into the space without the need for a tangle of cables. The involvement of the ceiling emphasizes the height and the sense of the space.
During DDW, Lotte will present an exhibition of her work to date under the name ‘Collection Overview’ at her studio at Plug-in City – a mini living room with open container doors.
I want this presentation to inspire people to look at the world differently.
Plug-In-City | Leidingsstraat 30
The Nine Hidden Gems of DDW was made possible through the collaboration with Dutch Design Daily and DDW curator, Katja Lucas. Want to check out the Hidden Gems for yourself? Urban Exploring Tours and Koga will be organising a special bike tour every morning and afternoon where you will see the selected designers. For more information, click here.
Text: Chris de Zeeuw