Dutch Design Week kicks off on the 19th in Eindhoven and in keeping with their history of Design Academy Eindhoven graduating some of the most poetic designers working today, the presentations this year continue to explore the borders of possibility for design. We’ve combed through over 450 events to call out some of the most interesting food design projects to explore during this year’s festivities.


BIOMATERIALS MATTER
A number of material-focused shows are exploring the myriad possibilities of a biomaterial future. As Marta Giralt wrote in Issue 3 of MOLD Magazine, food and agricultural waste poses a huge potential as a raw material to mine for the future. Of particular interest at DDW19 is the debut of the “#ZeroWaste #ZeroBudget” Biomaterials Archive, showcasing research from the Academy’s undergraduates including fruit bioplastics, acorn-MDF, kombucha and other food waste. Another group show comes from a collective of Central Saint Martins graduates, United Matters, that looks at the intersection of craft, science and technology—a preview images shows hardboiled eggs on toast, promising a look at the way that we interact with food as material.

Four material-specific shows to consider include 1) Sustrato, a project from Andrea de La Pena, a Mexico-city based designer working with pineapple fibers from agricultural waste to create yarns, bioplastics and a fiberglass-like material, 2) Eunji Jun’s dairy and plant-based food waste casein bioplastics for tablewear and other household objects, 3) New York City-based GY Studio’s CT Dairy project that takes the same materials of casein and food waste to create a “milk rubber” coating for workwear and decellularized vegetable waste to make accessories, and 4) Atelier Tom Veeger’s Mycelium Pavilion showcasing the architectural opportunities presented by mycelium-based structures which rely on agricultural and food waste as substrates.


WEARABLE WELLNESS
We’ve been a fan of Studio Nienke Hoogvliet since her seaweed-based material and color explorations in 2015. Showing at DDW19 is a newer line of inquiry around the medicinal effects of HERBS as textile dye. In this workshop, visitors will be able to dye their own t-shirt in three different herbal dye baths.


DESIGN DINING
With Marije Vogelzang’s Food Non Food program turning out graduates every year, it should come as no surprise that there are a number of culinary experiences available to those who want to satiate the senses and fill their bellies. The Eatelier is teaming up with Chef Pippens for Evolution of the Omnivore, a 12-course lunch or 18-course dinner exploring three verticals of climate change, new technologies and pharma-medical advancements that will impact the future of food.

At Sectie-C, Eylien Lommen is collaborating with four different design studios for Atelier Dinner, a rotating three-course lunch or dinner program that will lean on conversational prompts and sound to conjure an experience for discussing the future of food.


PRODUCTS FOR DINING
Two notable product-driven shows include Longpi by Tiipoi, a collaboration with potters in Longpi to create a contemporary collection of table and cookware using a traditional Indian method of building, firing and glazing black ceramics. We are also really curious about the Groundfridge by Studio Floris Schoonderbeek. A contemporary take on the root cellar, the room is naturally cooled cellar for storing food and wine.


GROUP SHOWS
A few tentpole exhibitions caught our attention, the most prominent being the Embassy of Water, a platform connecting local government agencies with designers and research institutions in support of creating, “a design practice that supports the way water functions.” In essence, designs for water in a sustainable water chain. Berlin-based innovators Sinn Ästhetik have organized Sensetainable, a showcase of design projects—including Youyang Song’s Cooking New Material and Xinyue Yand and Antonia Nandori’s Coffee Composer—that invite the user into the manufacturing process of new products. Speaking of coffee, Yksi Expo is showcasing a number of coffee-based innovations and products that hope to close the loop on coffee production and consumption in Beyond Coffee.