A Royal Encounter with Dutch Design, as the subtitle reads, can be admired in five historic palace rooms. “The royal style rooms of Het Loo were furnished thirty years ago, I believe”, says part-time lecturer and coach at ID ir. Maarten Versteeg. “The items have been cordoned off neatly, and visitors can see how royal families used to live way back when.”

By now, however, Het Loo has realized “they have to change in order to attract a younger audience as well”. So for the first time in thirty years, five rooms have been emptied and redecorated entirely, so visitors can roam the areas freely. According to Versteeg, Royal Showpieces “puts modern-day craftsmen in the limelight”. The exhibit features work by Jan Taminiau, but young and foreign artist are represented as well.

The designs by ID students Maijke Receveur, Erwin Hoogerwoord, and Karin Niemantsverdriet were created for ID theme Wearable Senses. Niemantsverdriet designed Memento, a medallion that allows the wearer to record, save and play back sounds. Maijke Receveur’s design that’s exhibited in Het Loo is A Small Gesture. It’s a piece of jewelry meant to strengthen the bond between elderly and their (grand)children. Timesphere is the graduation project of bachelor students Erwin Hoogerwoord. According to the designer, Timesphere mimics the overview effect: the experience of astronauts who return to earth and see the entire globe floating through the universe.

The Audience Room shows two works of two more (former) ID students. Wisse Trooster and Quinten Peuling secured a spot in the Apeldoorn exhibition through their collaboration with The Hague designer Karel Bodegom. With their company Qoowl, they took care of the technical realization of Royal.hand: a small, wood-lasered ‘pop-up high table’ that can be used at receptions, so visitors can easily hold their drinks and bites.