For the library of Hoogeveen in the Dutch province of Drenthe we’ve come up with a very special product. It’s not a stretch to guess that it’s an exhibit design, something we are indeed proud of. Yet it’s the run-up, the process and the ambitions for the future that make this project truly special.
The “Story Wharf”, or “Verhalewerf in Dutch, is just as it sounds: an emporium for local heritage, a marketplace for stories. The people of Hoogeveen, a hardworking and independent sort, wanted to determine its content themselves, wanted to put it together themselves and wanted to insure that it was a ‘history in making’. For this movable approach they needed a flexible exhibition concept. Together with Studio Louter, who gave support with production, content and graphic design, we developed a flexible, modular, interchangeable, reproducible concept that was also easy to expand and configure. In fact it’s an exhibition concept that is oriented towards the needs of smaller heritage collections, libraries and municipal entities that are trying to reinvent themselves in this new era of merging services and digital technology. By now there are a number of interested parties in our approach, and it’s the ambition of Hoogeveen and Studio Louter to share and spread this concept as much as possible.
The Story Wharf is comprised of display cases, platforms, educative tables and graphics all combined like building blocks in the form of stacked transport crates made of plywood. These elements are easy to configure and combine in various depths, breadths, and heights. When the needs expand, new parts are easily ordered by the CNC cutting specialist. It’s an informal system meant for spaces that already have climate control, but within this limit it’s a great solution for organisations on a limited budget.
