PROJECTS
Opening of a World of Shapes
World of Shapes is the name of a big, new, permanent exhibition designed by Todd van Hulzen Design at NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam. Wereld van Vormen, in Dutch, is all about geometry, mathematics and the world we live in. The “soft” opening was Thursday 24 September, and even though
Fantastic Floor at NEMO
That marvelous, terrifying moment has arrived for our project at the NEMO Science Center: the first concrete installations are taking place. No longer a design process in which to endlessly vacillate between possibilities, we now have incontrovertible real objects being installed and constructed. The exhibit furniture and elements are being
The Stern Carving of the Royal Charles
It’s rare that I do any sculpture work anymore for film like I used to. But this particular assignment really appealed to me for reasons that have nothing to do with money: recreate the stern carvings of the royal flagship that Michiel De Ruyter seized and towed from Chatham during
Trailer for Michiel de Ruyter
Here’s the trailer for the historical epic film Michiel de Ruyter for which I did some projects.No lack of flying wood chips and clouds of gunpowder here! See previous posts on the Stern of the Royal Charles and the Corpses of the Brothers De Witt. Subtitles in English.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FErwE727WA
The Corpses of the Brothers De Witt
Another sculpture assignment I received from the production of the film “Michiel de Ruyter” was to recreate the cruelly lynched bodies of the brothers De Witt, a prominent Dutch politician from the 16th century and his brother who were attacked by an Orangist mob and lynched in the Hague. Obviously
And the winner is….
Het Geheugenpaleis (Palace of Memory) in the National Archives in the Hague has won the award in the category “Best International Exhibition”. We jaunted off to London on a lark to be there when the winners were announced, and were totally over the moon when we heard that in spite
Mariapark in Sittard: “Round Trip Netherlands” gets its second wind.
Several weeks ago we dismantled our exhibit in Münster (see below) and now we’ve just built it back up in Sittard in a very different location. The very secular exhibition has gone to a remarkably godly place: in the cloister of the Mariapark in Sittard, which contains some of the
Exhibit Einmal Niederlande und Zurück opens in Münster, Germany
“Einmal Niederlande und Zurück” is an exhibition that Todd van Hulzen Design created at the Haus der Niederlande in Münster, Germany about German areas under Dutch control after the Second World War. Artifacts and archive materials tell the story of Dutch indignation, retribution and dreams of expansion after the war,
Amsterdam GVB Streetcar now rolling with our designs on it.
With all the commotion around the opening of “Temporal Tower” we almost forgot that there was an Amsterdam tram (streetcar) of the GVB (Municipal Transport Company) about to roll out with our name on it. And sure enough, there she is. Dirk Bertels of Studio Louter and Todd van Hulzen
The Haringpakkerstoren “rebuilt” in scaffolding and light
We can’t describe how giddy and proud we are of our new big baby, the impressive reconstruction of the historic Haringpakkerstoren (Herring Packers’ Tower). Of course our tower is not made of masonry and wood, but of scaffolding, mesh, and most importantly, light. 30 meters high (100 feet), the tower,
The Making of “Temporal Tower”
Here are some pictures of our tower project in the making. The first step was agreeing on a budget and a technical design, which we ploddingly accomplished with our world-class international scaffolder StageCo. Then with the help of a crane, postponed several days due to a fierce storm, we hoisted
HRH Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, toasts to our endeavor.
King Willem-Alexander opened the newly remodeled wing and the new exhibition space of the National Archives in The Hague yesterday. He came especially to our little design table to raise a glass of champagne to honor our efforts. Proost!
Wayang Kulit Belanda: shadow puppets of Dutch characters in Indonesian style.
For an installation in Het Geheugenpaleis (Palace of Memory,) currently on exhibit at the Dutch National Archives in the Hague, Todd created a series of shadow puppets based on both caricatures of Dutch “types” and on traditional Indonesian style shadow puppets made of punched leather, or Wayang Kulit. This was
The National Archives opens Palace of Memory
After three years of hard work, the Geheugenpaleis (Palace of Memory) has come to completion. This project represents the crowning achievement of not only our studio, but of the long term ambitions of the National Archives itself. It is grand, evocative, fascinating, touching and above all it offers deep immersion
Amsterdam Light Festival: Todd van Hulzen creates “Temporal Tower”
A lot has happened in the last few months, and we’ve been missing the chance to update. One of the most significant things is the fact that Todd van Hulzen was selected, with Studio Louter, to produce their concept for the Amsterdam Light Festival. This is a new annual festival
For the Holidays: drawings for Vondel’s Gysbrecht van Aemstel
It’s an old Amsterdam tradition that has fallen somewhat in disuse: staging a performance of Joost van den Vondel’s drama, Gysbrecht van Æmstel on New Years Day. In 2008 Todd van Hulzen created a series of scene sketches and story-boards for a film version of the play, part of a threefold
“Badass” Santa for Wieden+Kennedy
very so often we get a call that is so compelling it can’t be ignored: would you please carve for us a giant hideous Santa head and two tattooed hands? This is for a holiday party at the advertising firm of Wieden+Kennedy, of Nike and Coke fame. The concept was rigorously
Mariniersmuseum: Unit in Uruzgan (Museum of the Dutch Marinecorps)
The semi-permanent exhibit Eenheid in Uruzgan (Unit in Uruzgan) in the Mariniersmuseum in Rotterdam was conceived as a place of reflection about the human costs of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan. Studio Louter created four compelling —occasionally dramatic— films and Todd van Hulzen conceived of a simple plan to focus devotion and
Go to the Light! Nationaal Archief
We are loving the light studies we’ve done for the opening exhibition at the National Archives in the Hague. Just some colored LEDs, some tiny cardboard boxes and camera are all it takes to create an enormous atmosphere. We also made some computer generated studies of different kinds of possible
River Phoenix’s Last Film in Premiere
Stranger things have happened, but finally after almost 20 years, a film for which Todd did art work and design is going in premier— after a fashion. George Sluizer’s Dark Blood, which was the last film of River Phoenix, has been cobbled together from loose footage and some strategic narration to form an interesting
An old project resurfaces: Dark Blood
In connection with the premiere of Dark Blood at the the Utrecht film festival, here are some photos of work from that project. It is mostly sculpture work and set designs executed for Ben van Os. If you’ve seen the film you will immediately recognize the shack that River Phoenix’s character
Museum Broekerveiling phase III. Permanent exhibit Leven van het Land is a fact
After more than a year of hard work Museum BroekerVeiling in Broek op Langedijk finally opens the doors to its new permanent exhibit in the visitors’ center: “Leven van het Land” or “Living from the Land”. Princess Maxima cut the ribbon and did the honors of inaugurating some of the
Interactive exhibit SportLab! opens at the NEMO Science Center in the harbor of Amsterdam.
Todd van Hulzen and StudioLouter have created another fun and fascinating exhibition, this time at NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam. It’s called “SportLab” and it’s all about the science behind sports, which is particularly interesting in this big sports year: Olympics, European Cup, Tour de France, and more. The core concept of
Museum Broekerveiling phase II. Realm of 1000 Isles opens its doors.
A new exhibit “The Realm of 1000 Isles” is the second permanent exhibit that Todd van Hulzen Design has created for Museum Broekerveiling. This nineteenth century auction house, with its new visitors’ center, is the seat of agrarian history in the region. It is the oldest communitarian produce auction in the Netherlands, and
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 back alleys. This is the first bit of historic Amsterdam
Now designing the permanent exhibit for the regional agrarian museum “Broekerveiling”.
The Museum Broekerveiling showcases the phenomenon of the Dutch agricultural auction, an institution originating in the 19th century as a product of cooperation by independant produce farmers in the watery regions of the Province North Holland. Centered around a historic “water-borne” auction house, where auction lots are proffered by boat
Now designing the inaugural exhibit of the National Archives of the Netherlands.
Het Nationaal Archief (the Dutch National Archives)is the largest archival institution in the Netherlands. It oversees over 600 separate archival collections and is, in a sense, the memory of the Dutch people, from the Middel Ages, through the Republic and into the 21st century. In 2012 it will be opening
An Exhibit Presentation in Comic Book Format
These illustration show the only possible excuse to ever use the Comic Sans letterface: in a comic book! This was a proposal for a children’s line as part of a larger museum context. It was all about creating an adventure in the Prison Museum with the help of some friendly
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 the competition, we are very pleased with our Honorable Mention.
Installation opens for the exhibit “Gold” at the Museum Catherijne Convent in Utrecht.
The third unveiling this year is “Goud” (or Gold) at the Catherijne Convent in Utrecht. The Catherijne Convent is the museum of eccliastical heritage in the Netherlands, and by extension also a podium for the ritualistic and medieval. It is known for its innovative exhibits on popular customs and spirituality. For the
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