Author: @droog

Droog partners with Nissan to apply a unique dehydration warning system in the Nissan Juke; the system is created by designer Paulien Routs.

The steering wheel and driver seat in the Nissan Juke compact crossover turn blue or yellow or colours in between, indicating the sweat and dehydration level of the driver.

The car employs a sweat-sensitive textile coating called SOAK, which changes colour when in contact with perspiration. The solution analyses the composition of a person’s sweat and changes colour if the values of the micro-fluids change. The solution reacts to both sweat on skin and sweat on clothing. Paulien Routs worked closely with a chemist in order to achieve the correct solution that would be able to accurately determine hydration levels.

SOAK, originally the brainchild of designer Paulien Routs, was developed in Droog’s program Reality Tanks, initiated in 2013 to push innovative concepts of young designers forward in collaborations with academic researchers and commercial partners. SOAK was developed in 2014 in collaboration with Thewa Innovation, The Dutch Cosmetic Association and cosmetic doctor Annebeth Kroeskop.

Paulien Routs: “I originally created SOAK to be used on workout attire, but when Nissan approached me with plans to implement the technology in a Juke crossover for a one-off media activation, I thought it was fantastic. Within my work I aim to create innovative materials or designs that create new interactions with the user, that offer information about, in this case, the condition of our body. It’s about contextualising design in a new way.”

Apart from the project with Nissan, Droog and Paulien Routs continue to work on the application of SOAK on workout attire.

Centraal Museum bought its first Droog Design items exactly twenty years ago. Today Central Museum owns the world’s largest museum collection of Droog Design. At the same time, the year 2017 marks 100 years of De Stijl, celebrated across the country with the theme From Mondriaan to Dutch Design. So those are two good reasons for the exhibition Vroeg Droog: the early years of Droog Design.

This autumn, Centraal Museum presents fifty top pieces from its own collection. Swing away at the exhibition on Marcel Wanders’ Swing with the plants . Slide across Nina Farkache’s Come a litte bit closer marbles bench. Admire the collective’s early designs by Tejo Remy, Hella Jongerius, Richard Hutten and others. Or visit Droge Donderdag (Droog Thursday) on 5 October and 2 November: two evenings offering a special introduction to Droog Design.

Vroeg Droog: the early years of Droog Design is on display in Expo 7 from 22 September to 3 December 2017 in Centraal Museum Utrecht, Agnietenstraat 1, 3512 XA Utrecht.

Here the article Dit is zo ‘Dutch’ aan Dutch Design published in the October issue of Vrij Nederland, on the occasion of ‘Vroeg Droog’ at Centraal Museum and the upcoming Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Read here (in Dutch only).

Op 5 oktober vindt de eerste Droge Donderdag plaats, een gezellige avond waarbij iedereen welkom is de tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog te bezichtigen. Bovendien kun je conservator Natalie Dubois en conservator in opleiding Nadine Gouders ontmoeten in Expo 7 of in Museumcafé Centraal.

Bezoek de tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog en bewonder circa vijftig hoogtepunten van Droog Design uit de collectie van het Centraal Museum. Na een bezoek aan de tentoonstelling zijn bezoekers van harte welkom in Museumcafé Centraal. Wij trakteren je op een prosecco, tonic, sauvignon blanc of een ander droog drankje, zodat je kunt proosten op de nieuwe tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog: de beginjaren van Droog Design.

Je kunt tijdens deze Droge Donderdag tevens een lezing bijwonen over de definitie van Dutch Design. Joana Meroz (PhD candidate Design Cultures) vertelt over de radicale verandering die Droog Design betekende voor de betekenis van ‘Dutch Design’. De lezing vindt plaats van 19.15 uur tot 19.45 uur. Let op: de lezing zal in het Engels worden gegeven. Aanmelden hiervoor is verplicht, dat kan via dit inschrijfformulier.

Praktische informatie

Data: Donderdag 5 oktober, 19.00-21.00 uur
Locatie: Expo 7 & Museumcafé Centraal
Entree volgens reguliere prijzen. Voor actueel overzicht, klik hier

Open Monumentendag
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September, 11 am

Join us in the courtyard of Hôtel Droog for a moment of silence and reflection with Casper Stubbé from Urban Monk.

The city is a constant hive of activity, however throughout summer, the Urban Monk will lead a series of sessions at Hôtel Droog’s Courtyard that offer a moment of relief and calm with 30 minutes of silence. Inspired by his travels from Japan, the Urban Monk makes the quality of silence and ritual just as accessible as drinking a cup of coffee. This session will be followed by a discussion and reflection period.

Reserveren via [email protected]