Internationalisation of the design sector – 23 projects selected

HOH Architecten – Re-thinking re-use
Re-thinking re-use is an alternative approach to architecture and heritage via a Dutch-Japanese cultural exchange. The project was initiated by HOH Architecten and JNACA, with support from the RCE. While Japanese building culture embraces a tradition of ‘demolition-construction’ that focuses on the future, Dutch culture instead looks to the past for solutions. The project welcomes the reuse of existing buildings as an alternative to demolition or preservation, and as a response to the building industry’s contribution to the sustainability crisis. Through collaboration between Dutch and Japanese experts, architects and universities, and with the aid of a series of workshops, public lectures and publications, they aim to establish a new guiding balance. This will be exhibited at the Osaka World Expo 2025.

Anastasija Egges – Herring (fishing) archives
For the Herring (fishing) archives project, Anastasija Egges is examining the aftermath of Brexit in relation to fishing communities and the dangers of the intended limits for fish stocks. The study documents the divisions in the North Sea from three different perspectives: the small-scale fishing communities, the fishing industry and the herring schools. The aim of the project is to understand the future of fishery by looking at the current situation from three different viewpoints and by trying to bring them together in a shared conversation. According to the designer, fishing should be considered a regenerative practice rather than an extractive act. That is why it is essential to listen to voices that have the knowledge and practical experience of how this can be achieved, about connecting, reconnecting, learning and unlearning, adapting and acknowledging in order to survive and thrive together.

Ritvik Kushu – Living knowledges of the endangered
The project Living knowledges of the endangered, led by photographer Jet Siemons and designer Ritvik Khushu, takes place in the Netherlands and in Malabar (present-day south-west India). This project brings together archival material, insights, stories, materials and connections. By doing this, the project partners hope to contribute to the reformulation of ‘disrupted’ knowledge, and the social and spiritual context in which this knowledge was created. The project combines decolonial theory, a design question and marginalised mysticism. Focus is on the question: what would it mean to design, archive and work based on the perspective of the cosmological other? The project mainly focuses on documenting, preserving and reviving indigenous healing traditions and their social and spiritual context. The first phase lays the foundations of the project. This phase involves building networks, collecting extensive material and developing prototypes for new archiving strategies.