An unexpected commission from
Eigen Huis & Interieur for Amsterdam’s
Woonbeurs gave i29 the opportunity
to rethink the trade-fair typology.2015
EIGEN HUIS & INTERIEUR
By 2015, Jansen and Dellensen were becom-
ing capable of mastering a new genre in
moments. That didn’t mean they weren’t
surprised by Eigen Huis & Interieur’s request
for a trade-fair stand for Amsterdam’s annual
Woonbeurs (domestic-living fair). ‘We
weren’t huge fans of these kinds of events,’
says Jansen, ‘and we wondered why they
were asking us.’ The confusion compounded
when they saw the Dutch magazine’s previ-
ous product-packed presentations – more
decoration than design.
But 2015 was different. It was the
year that the client wanted i29 to rethink the
concept of a trade-fair stand entirely, and
the designers were given carte blanche. ‘The
Woonbeurs is all about styling,’ says Del-
lensen. ‘We wanted to focus on the opposite:
architecture, sightlines, scale, colour – in
their purest forms.’
A sure sign that the stand was from
the hands of the Frame Store designers?
Mirrored boxes. Here, the structures con-
cealed products – not your typical trade-fair
approach. ‘We realized that offering some-
thing to discover is a leitmotif in our work,’
says Dellensen. Another common theme,
adds Jansen, is striking ‘a balance betweenminimalism and maximalism: making the
most out of very little’.
Apart from augmenting i29’s list of
expertise, the Eigen Huis & Interieur project
emphasized the value of serendipity. ‘We
became secure about the “presents” you
receive from certain designs,’ says Jansen.
‘We wanted high-quality mirror for the
boxes but ended up with an imperfect
finish that produced warped reflections.
The result was unexpectedly artistic, like a
painting. Sometimes things go against your
intentions, but we learned to have faith in
a good outcome.’ »MILESTONES 67