Discover and buy design in an empty library

150 designers and 10,000 enthusiastic visitors in an empty library
150 designers and 10,000 enthusiastic visitors spending a weekend in an iconic vacant building in the heart of the city – it’s Rotterdam through and through. For OBJECT director Anne van der Zwaag, it perfectly reflects the city’s mentality. “We’re very much about pop-ups and raw energy,” she says. “Not too polished. In Rotterdam you quickly get support and enthusiasm when you come up with good ideas. You just get started and go all out together.”

or the annual design fair OBJECT, Anne van der Zwaag always looks for a remarkable new location in Rotterdam. This year it became the Central Library, the well-known library at the Binnenrotte. The distinctive building currently stands empty as it is about to undergo renovation. “I was still looking for a venue when the municipality of Rotterdam suggested organizing the fair here. That felt like a huge compliment and a great sign of trust.”

Just get started and go all out together.

From the old V&D to the Central Library
By choosing iconic locations, the OBJECT design fair has become highly successful. Past editions took place in places like the HAKA building and the SS Rotterdam.
“Last year we were in the old V&D building at Beursplein,” Anne explains. “That attracted a broad audience — people wanted to see the inside of that building again.”
The same applies to the library, often described as the living room of the city, where many Rotterdammers have memories. Over three days, the fair attracted 10,000 visitors.

Visitors could discover the work of 150 designers, many of whom are based in Rotterdam.
“Rotterdam has a large creative scene. There are many designers, architects, fashion designers and artists here,” Anne says.
With OBJECT, she wants to give participants the opportunity to show their work to a broad audience.
“You’ll find high-end designs for collectors, but also affordable design for your home. The fact that you can see and buy it so easily in the middle of the city makes OBJECT unique.”

Chicken-wire replicas of lost buildings
Eindhoven-based artist Luuk Diters is participating in the fair for the first time this year. He recreates vanished Rotterdam buildings as replicas made from chicken wire. The open structure allows visitors to look through the buildings from every angle.
“It’s blood, sweat and tears,” Luuk explains. “The chicken wire gets flattened first, and then I twist it together like iron wire. You get caught on it all the time — the calluses are still on my hands.”

“My project is about the Rotterdam that could have existed.”

Luuk graduated last year from the Design Academy Eindhoven and became fascinated with the city’s history during an internship in Rotterdam.
“My project is about the Rotterdam that could have existed. After the bombing, a list was made of 144 buildings that could still be saved. That list disappeared, but through archival research with photos and architectural drawings I’m trying to reconstruct it.”

Six months of work for one building
The Bosjeskerk and Beurs station are the first buildings Luuk recreated. In total there will be eleven, including Dudok’s former Bijenkorf department store.
It’s painstaking work — each building takes him six months to complete.
“Het Nieuwe Instituut and Museum Rotterdam have already expressed their support and interest,” Luuk says. “Also for the book I’m making about this project and the vanished buildings.”
“The replicas are currently still in Eindhoven, but if I secure funding I hope to realise the project and display the eleven replicas for everyone to see.“

I’d love for it to have a place in Rotterdam.

It truly belongs here. I wouldn’t want to sell it privately to someone. I’m making this for Rotterdam.”

Furniture made from dice
Artist Diederik Schneemann is participating in OBJECT for the fifth time. Among other things, he creates furniture from matchboxes and dice. His work is expensive and produced in limited editions.
He sees the dice furniture as lucky objects.
“We’re always trying to roll a six,” Diederik explains. “Because that’s where the luck is. That’s why all the sixes are on the top of a table, for example. The sides then form a random pattern — and maybe they bring a bit of luck too.”

Rotterdam is a city full of energy

Diederik has lived and worked in Rotterdam for twenty years. The city’s energy is an important source of inspiration for him.
“Here you can eat, drink and enjoy things from all over the world. Rotterdam is a vibrant place where something is always happening and new things are constantly emerging.”
OBJECT in the library is a perfect example, he says.
“It’s a beautiful building. The colours and design of the building go in all directions — that’s fun. And a fair like this is one of the few places where designers can present their work themselves, without being tied to a gallery.”

Meanwhile, Anne van der Zwaag is already preparing for the next edition of OBJECT. Even though she has no idea where it will take place yet, after thirteen years she knows it will work out.
“Rotterdam has incredible places. If you know where to find them and you’re given the trust to work with them, so much is possible here. And that’s what makes this city truly special.”