W70 - 5th Floor
Once the headquarters of Stad Rotterdam Insurance, W70 has been transformed into a dynamic hub where work, creativity, and culture intersect. Rooted in Rotterdam’s ethos of reinvention, the space embraces upcycling, giving materials and interiors a second life while preserving its original character.
Now a thriving meeting point, W70 fosters collaboration between entrepreneurs, makers, and cultural initiatives—breathing new energy into Weena’s skyline. At Design Biennale Rotterdam, it becomes a stage for innovative design that reflects the city's commitment to transformation and sustainabitliy.
The 5th floor of weena is hosting one of our main show as well as three exhibitions especially curated for the biennale.
MaIN SHOW DESigN BieNNaLE ROTTERDaM: What's Real is Unfamiliar
W70 hosts a large group exhibition that occupies the entire 5th floor, showcasing the majority of works selected through an open call. 50 designers respond to the theme "What's Real is Unfamiliar", where furniture plays a role as a catalyst for change. Inspired by a line of poetry by Rien Vroegindeweij, which adorns a building on 1e Middellandstraat—“If everyone comes from somewhere else, no one is a stranger”—the exhibition challenges the conventional understanding of familiarity and the unknown. Each of the works explores this idea in depth, examining the intersection of identity, space, and social dynamics. Through these diverse perspectives, What's Real is Unfamiliar explores how design can provoke reflection, push boundaries, and redefine the everyday objects that shape our lives.
304.cage x CHUNIBOYZ (NL/CH)
anaïs Borie (FR)
Oana Clitan (RO)
Built Editions (in/nl)
Stefano Dealessandri (IT)
Bruna Doerzapff (DE)
Ciro Doclos (NL)
atelier Fig (NL)
Max Funkat (DE)
alex Foradori (IT)
Shai Gattmon (IL)
Simon Hampikian (DE)
HEITER x Robin Berrewaerts (Protopia Collective)
Jonas Hejduk (FR)
Emmanuel Hugnot (FR)
House of Rubber (NL)
Indefinito (IT)
Ned Kaar (IR)
KE&PB (IT)
Lukas Klein (AT)
Lisa Konno & Laura Mrksa (AT)
Ebba Lindgren (SE)
Waltter Mahlberg (FI)
Yvonne Mak (NL)
Walter Mingledorff (DE)
Laura Mrksa (aT)
Sjang Niederwieser (NL)
Marco Paulon & Nick Radlein (NL)
Ginevra Petrozzi (IT)
Gaia Pezzini (IT)
Pauline Rip (FR)
Bianca Schick (IT)
Spazio Cenere (IT)
Thijmen van der Steen (NL)
Studio C.a.R.E. (DE)
Studio Gert Wessels (NL)
Studio Manon Stoeltie (NL)
Fabio Salvadori (IT)
Valerio Santarsenio (IT)
Timaeus (NL)
Yanni Timmerman (BE)
Pepe Valenti (SP)
Jonas Wolff (DE)
CRafting plastics
While plastic is often dismissed for obvious reasons it can also be considered an interesting, surprisingly versatile material for crafting. Plastic is here to stay, and in the hands of skilled designers and artisans, even ordinary scraps can be transformed into fascinating and valuable collectibles. With this exhibition, we aim to challenge the conventional perception of plastic.
This exhibition presents the work of 19 individual designers and studios. Some studios were selected for their dedicated focus on working with plastic, others for their casual but intelligent transformations, and a few were challenged to experiment especially for this show.
The thoughtfully crafted objects on display—created with care and joy—reveal both plastic's unexpected potential and each designer's distinctive talents.
Lex Pott (NL)
Elvis Wesley (NL)
Job van den Berg (NL)
Sjoerd Labega (NL)
Sunhyo Mast (NL)
Pierre Castignola (FR/NL)
Leo Koda (JP/NL)
Phil Procter (GB/NL)
Rachel Griffin (US/NL)
Jas&Cal (NL)
The New Raw (GR/NL)
Adrianus Kundert (NL/DE)
Sarah Roseman (Ca/NL)
Bertjan Pot (NL)
Rein Reitsma (NL)
Gerard Lukken (NL)
Rik van Veen (NL)
Embellished Edges —New Perspectives on Ornament in Design
There was a time, before the onset of industrialisation, when ornamentation defined the beauty of crafted objects, weaving artistry into the everyday—from grand architectural structures to the most personal belongings. Craftspeople shaped intricate patterns and rich textures, lending a sensory depth to the world around them. Yet, with the rise of industry, ornamentation grew subdued; things became uniform, and the unexpected nuances of ornament were gradually lost. The modernist age accelerated this shift, with movements like the Bauhaus championing the purity of form over the decorative.
Today, amid global challenges—environmental, economic and social—designers are looking back in time for guidance, reconsidering the enduring value of craft. With the help of advanced tools, manufactured materials and digital innovations, designers are presented with possibilities unimaginable by their predecessors. Embellished Edges: New Perspectives on Ornament in Design explores how contemporary creators are reclaiming ornamentation not just as an expression of beauty, but as a vessel for transporting ideas relevant to our time.
Clara Schweers (DE)
Delphine Lejeune (FR)
Kurina Sohn (KR)
ThEophile Blandet (FR)
Sarah Roseman (Ca)
Seo Myeonga (KR)
Marie KoláRová (CZ)
Laurids Gallée (aT)
Flora Manon Lechner (aT)
Barry Llewellyn (IR)
Marie Judith Le Gars (FR)
What does your choice of material say about you?
For the second iteration of Reflections Of Home, an ensemble of Australian-based creatives will showcase works revolving around the theme of 'Material and Culture' as part of the inaugural Rotterdam Design Biennale. Curated by Bolaji Teniola, this exhibition will focus on material observation.
As designers, artists, craftspeople, and makers develop in their practice, so too does their understanding of their chosen medium. An arguably potential catalyst for this materiality-based discovery and development could be a conscious or subconscious response influenced by life experience and the environment in which each individual's creativity has been nurtured.
The select group of creatives, although just a slice of the vast Australian contemporary design and art scene, all approach their mediums in a way that either enhances, challenges or subverts the conventional possibilities of their chosen material.
Gretal Ferguson (aU)
alexandra Hirst (aU)
Keulemans & Hashimoto
Takeshi Iue (aU)
Carly Tarkari Dodd (aU)
Bolaji Teniola (aU)
Lotte Schwerdtfeger (aU)
Nat Penney (aU)
3012 CM Rotterdam
OPEN IN MaPS
11.00 — 17.00