SCENOGRAPHY & EXHIBITION
SUBVERT THE ORDINARY
Todd van Hulzen is an exhibitionist. At his design studio a shameless love of history and beauty are harnessed to help you set the scene for lasting memories.
Todd van Hulzen Design is an Amsterdam based multifaceted design studio specialized in showing off: creating museum exhibitions, visitor experiences, design presentations, exhibit furnishings, art objects and theatrical environments. We combine vision with pragmatism and fantasy with professionalism.
Services
Exhibitions can be emotional experiences: when done right. Let us help you create a compelling visitor journey without losing sight of your institutional principles. We offer display solutions for all budgets, innovative concepts, […read further]
If you require an unusual film set you need a broadly experienced designer. Todd van Hulzen has 25 years of film experience. He’s built on his love of historic architecture to become the go-to guy for the design of period sets […read further]
No project gets pulled perfectly formed out of a hat. We can help you do early development for vision-statements, fundraising, PR or just brainstorming. With our partners we make workshops, presentations, proposals and brochures […read further]
Producing a large project doesn’t have to be a leap of faith. With our dependable partners we have all the tools to create not only scenography, but also research, content, graphics, construction and project coordination […read further]
NEW News
RECENT POSTS
Animation of the old Haarlem Gate, Amsterdam
My recent post on Twitter with this animation of the old Haarlem Gate designed by Hendrick de Keyser garnered a fair amount of interest. I’ve posted it here, now in higher resolution, to be able to enjoy it more. During
3D Models of Vanished Amsterdam Buildings
Todd van Hulzen has always been a big fan of the Amsterdam architect Hendrick de Keyser. De Keyser was city’s master architect in the first half of the 17th century and is responsible for many distinctive buildings and beloved landmarks,
Harlequin mannequins
We are calling the festive dressing models in this video “Harlequin Mannequins”. But having been originally made in Holland for an exhibition about Carnival where the diamond shape was used as a recurring motif, they also get the Dutch dialect name
It’s all in the details: Neo-Gothic explorations
You never really give up on your old loves. While rebuilding my website recently I came across a lot of old drawings and research material from past projects that made my heart flutter. For the series ‘Sanctuary’, a Canadian Sci-Fi/fantasy
Revisioning Amsterdam’s Dam Square
In 2016 the Amsterdam daily newspaper Het Parool began a conversation about the city’s central square, the Dam, or “Dam Square” as tour guides call it. Originally built as a proper dam in the Amstel River giving the medieval town
Game of Goose, the LGBT-refugee version
For the exhibition Pride & Prejudice (see below), a show about the creative lives of LGBT refugees in the Netherlands, we conceived and created a board game. It was in the form of a “Game of Goose”, an old European
old news
RANDOMIZED POSTS
Library of Hoogeveen, interior upgrade
After designing the permanent heritage exhibition space in the library of Hoogeveen we were invited to redesign the entire library. This begins with the entryway and ends with various study spaces. In between there is an information counter, a cluster
Video walkthrough of Zeeslag!/Naval Battle!
For those of you who can’t make it up to Den Helder (North Holland) to see our latest exhibition “Zeeslag! / Naval Battle!” we’ve made a walkthrough video of the exhibition for you.
Dutch Navy Museum Photo App
The Marinemuseum (Museum of the Dutch Navy) in Den Helder wanted to create an application for a “photo souvenir” and a physical installation to accommodate it. The app takes a shot of a visitor against a backdrop and then renders
Design for the Mauritshuis, British Royal Collection
Not every pitch is a winner. We could dedicate a monthly post to all of the marvelous fish that got away. The odds are simply not always in your favor, and everyone knows this before going in on a design tender. Still, it’s a
Queen Beatrix opens “de Westerstraat” at the National Open Air Musem
Queen Beatrix opened a new exhibit at the Open Air Museum in Arnhem this week. “The Westerstraat” is a reconstruction, or rather a ‘reassemblage’ of a group of buildings from Amsterdam’s Jordaan district, in particular the old slums in the
Todd van Hulzen and Museumstudio win a prestigious award for Museum Broekerveiling.
As we described in an earlier post, we were nominated for an “InternationalMuse Award”, the prestigious award presented by the American Association of Museums, in the category of “Multimedia Installation” for our work at the Broekerveiling, the floating action house. Considering
who is Tvh?
From a little studio in Amsterdam Zuid Todd is conquering the world of museum design. At least, that’s the idea.
todd a van hulzen
designer
Todd van Hulzen (1967) hails from the state of Oregon in the U.S. from a family of Dutch Reformed rancher-farmers. He studied history and art in Portland, Oregon (Lewis & Clark College.) After an initial stay in the Netherlands in 1989 and in Italy after that he settled permanently in Amsterdam in 1999. He returns yearly to Klamath County, Oregon to work on his cabin.
After an early career as a fine artist and sculptor in the film world Todd moved on to be a designer of film sets, with as a specialty period architecture and design. As Art-Director/Set-Designer Todd designed film sets for the Oscar nominated films Girl with a Pearl Earring and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Recent Dutch productions are Bloed, zweet en tranen, Michiel de Ruyter en de western Brimstone. Since 2007 he has turned towards the museum world as an exhibition designer. In his own words, “the scientific side to museums gave me something that I could never get from the fiction of film.”
At Todd van Hulzen Design it’s all about making unforgettable experiences and inspiring emotions such as admiration, amazement, and self recognition. We love to help people discover how awesome the world is.
The love of a museum for it’s collection is something we admire. We encourage clients to rediscover the beauty of their own missions. Yet, making an exhibition that is also an artistic sensation in itself is the designer’s valhalla. So let’s combine the two!
Here’s a guide to a proper work strategy when making an exhibition:
- Immersion
You begin designing a space by first immersing yourself in the content. Draw everything you can out of historic and scientific material. Draw connections and dare to make thematic leaps. - Integration
Make sure that you can unite as many exhibit elements as possible under one umbrella: graphics, multimedia, architecture, PR and story. Encourage as much cross-pollination as possible. - Distillation
Distill all the themes into one visual brand; if possible one that represents your narrative in a nutshell and one that visitors can have an emotional bond with. Couple it to a slogan. - Respect
Value the building and its history and keep the unique mission of the institution in high regard. Don’t let an exhibition clash with its surroundings. Remember accessibility. - Visitor orientation
Make sure the design answers basic questions of orientation:
Where. Where am I? Where am I within the whole and what is my next step? (Give a clear structure)
Why. Why am I here? What draws me onward. (Reward curiosity with amazement)
What. What is the key question? (Make the raison-d’être of the exhibition apparent)
How. How is my world view changing? (Effective means of communication)
Todd keeps up an Instagram feed where he shares his observations over art, design and museums.
Contact
Come visit Todd at the studio in Amsterdam’s De Pijp, or call for an appointment to see a presentation
- Studio / Atelier
- Lutmastraat 191D, 1074 TV Amsterdam
- +31 626196137
- Postal Correspondence
- 2e Wittenburgerdwarsstraat 172, 1018 LP Amsterdam
- info@vanhulzen.com