Taipei International Book Exhibition – Netherlands Pavilion
Marking 400 years since the first encounter between the Dutch and the native people of the island of Taiwan, the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) declared the Netherlands as the “Guest of Honour” for the 2024 edition of Asia’s largest book fair. MVRDV was selected to both design and curate the Netherlands pavilion. The design was composed of three adjoining circles wrapped in images of Dutch landscapes. This created three spaces to represent past, present, and future, allowing the pavilion to reflect on the 400-year relationship, to present modern-day Dutch design and sustainability expertise, to elaborate on ideals of diversity and inclusivity – and of course, to showcase and explore a wide range of Dutch literature.
- Location
- Taiwan
- City
- Taipei
- Year
- 2024
- Surface
- 500 m²
- Client
- Ministry of Culture Taiwan, Netherlands Office Taipei, Taipei Book Fair Foundation
- Status
- Realised
- Programmes
- Educational , Pavilion , Cultural , Temporary , Exhibition , Interior
- Themes
- Public
As much as possible, the pavilion design used recycled, recyclable, and reusable materials, ensuring a sustainable contribution to the exhibition producing minimal waste. The underlying structure was made with scaffolding arranged into three linked circles. Following the motto “reading expands horizons”, these structures were wrapped in printed canvas that showed the expansive horizons of three archetypical Dutch landscapes: the sea, the polder, and the dunes. On the interiors of these circles, colour-altered versions of the same three images, inspired by the bold use of colour in Dutch art and design, helped to set a variety of atmospheres inside the pavilion. At the end of the pavilion's working lifespan, this canvas will be turned into book bags and pouches, ensuring an afterlife for the materials used in the pavilion.
At the centre of the arrangement, the largest circle was represented by the polder landscape. This circle signifies the present, and was the hub for presenting contemporary Dutch literature, while presenting information about Dutch design and sustainability on its walls. An amphitheatre-like bookshelf and seating platform provided a space for presentations, workshops, and talks throughout the six-day expo.
On a smaller circle, the sea represented the past, as a symbol of the age of exploration and colonisation that originally brought the Dutch into contact with what was then known as Formosa. Here, an exhibition of artifacts, documents, and models critically examined the early stages of that relationship.
Finally, the circle representing the future, featuring the Dutch dunes, provided a space for children’s literature and for reflecting on important values of tolerance, free speech, diversity, and inclusivity.
Where the circles connected, the canvas gave way to curtains of the same design, which could be opened or closed to provide entrances to the pavilion. Similarly, curtains in between each of the circles could be closed to separate each one into its own space, or opened to join the entire pavilion into one large, continuous space.
“It’s truly an honour to be invited to design and curate this pavilion for such a significant anniversary”, said MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “No relationship is ever simple, and a 400-year relationship has more complexities than most. Similarly, representing an entire country to the rest of the world requires some nuance. In our search for a space that could encompass everything from the history of Dutch colonialism to the cuteness of Miffy, we settled on a pavilion that could adapt over time, separating various sections or combining them all together as needed.”
Alongside the main pavilion were shopping areas where visitors could purchase highlighted books, as well as items related to beloved Dutch cartoon characters Miffy (or “Nijntje” to the Dutch) and Dikkie Dik. Visitors were also able to pre-order the book bags that would be made from the pavilion’s canvas walls. In addition to literature, the pavilion acts as a platform for the best that Dutch design has to offer, with the logo for the Netherlands’ Guest of Honour position designed by Amsterdam-based graphic designers Thonik.
The pavilion offered a central space at the exhibition to present a diverse group of acclaimed Dutch contemporary and children’s writers and illustrators, including Thé Tjong-Khing, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Maxim Februari, Radna Fabias, Alfred Birney, Carolijn Visser, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Joyce Bergvelt, Bibi Dumon Tak, Charlotte Dematons, Hanna Bervoets, and Robert van Gulik (represented by his son Thomas van Gulik). These authors and illustrators, alongside many other participants, presented a wide variety of discussions, lectures, workshops, and cultural experiences.
Following six successful days on show at TIBE, the pavilion was reinstalled in the atrium of the Tainan Public Library. Tainan marks the location of the first Dutch settlement in Taiwan, making it the ideal city in which to continue the pavilion’s journey. The city’s strong connection to the 400-year anniversary makes the curation of the pavilion – which, in part, presents a critical look at the Netherlands’ colonial history in Taiwan and its early relationships with both the natives and the Chinese population on the island – all the more profound.
Gallery
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Netherlands Pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
Installed at the Tainan Public Library. Image © Shephotoerd
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Credits
- Architect
- Founding partner in charge
- Curator
- Co-curator
- Design team
- Partners
- Co-architect:
- LDS – Laboratory for Diverse Status, Taipei, Taiwan
- Contractor:
- Jabaco Interior Design
- Scaffolding installation:
- Sheng Long Ying Jia
- Wood structure:
- Guanglai Construction
- Curtain system:
- Andari Group