Header: Mathijs Labadie
The first edition of Design Biennale Rotterdam will take place from February 20 to March 2, 2025, with press and professional days scheduled from the 19th to the 20th of February. Spanning more than 15 locations across the city, the biennale brings together over 100 local and international designers through exhibitions, talks, and events, all of which will fall under the theme “What’s Real is Unfamiliar“. Following the theme, this year’s edition explores how design challenges perceptions of reality and familiarity, reflecting Rotterdam’s direct approach to innovation.
Exhibitions and venues
The Biennale is held across multiple locations, each hosting curated exhibitions highlighting different aspects of contemporary design.
- At Groothandelsgebouw, This is Us presents works by Rotterdam-based designers from different generations, reflecting the city’s industrial heritage and contemporary design landscape. The venue also hosts a solo exhibition by Laurids Gallée, showing a new collection of lighting works.
- The aSR Building on Weena, a vacant office space near Central Station, will be repurposed to host large-scale group exhibitions. One focuses on everyday objects—such as chairs—reinterpreted as agents of change, while another, curated by Barry Lewellyn, examines the role of ornamentation in contemporary design.
- At Baanhof, a former electricity station, interior architect Robert van Oosterom curates A Promise of Happiness, a collection of design pieces exploring individuality and harmony. Featured designers include Umberto Bellardi Ricci, Audrey Large, Bram Vanderbeke, and Najla El Zein.
- The Huidenclub presents an exhibition curated by Liv Vaisberg, co-founder of the biennale, which explores themes of diaspora and cultural hybridity, showcasing designers whose work navigates complex identities and reclaims traditions in new ways.
- Katoenhuis focuses on material innovation, featuring projects integrating AI, 3D printing, and reimagined materials to rethink sustainability and production methods.
- At DOEN, in collaboration with ELLE Decoration, the exhibition Fragments of Form examines design through the lens of collage. Curated by Monique van der Reijden (ELLE Decoration Netherlands) and Eva Pertijs (DOEN), it will feature an installation by Berry Dijkstra and works by Pim Top, Marie Bernard (Masja van Deursen & Serge Game), among others.
- Store Projects highlights the work of young designers from under-represented backgrounds. As part of Design Club workshops led by Rinke Joosten, participants aged 15–18 showcase experimental glassworks developed using Joosten’s techniques, presented alongside her own work.
Professional program
The Biennale opens with a two-day professional program on February 19 and 20, offering symposiums, masterclasses, and curator-led tours. The first symposium, held at Nieuwe Instituut, focuses on design’s role in urban development, featuring a keynote by Joseph Zeal Henry and discussions on how Rotterdam’s industrial and working-class history shapes its contemporary design scene. The second day, hosted at Huidenclub, explores design’s engagement with cultural hybridity and heritage, addressing themes of identity, appropriation, and innovation in a globalized world.
Hosts and advisory network
Five Rotterdam-based designers serve as ambassadorial hosts, contributing to the program and fostering international connections:
- Anna Aagaard Jensen
- Sabine Marcelis
- Chris Kabel
- Laurids Gallée
- Marga Weimans

The Biennale also includes an honorary advisory committee composed of Rotterdam-based and international design professionals, offering insights that connect the event to broader global discussions. We can then say that with a mix of exhibitions, discussions, and collaborative projects, the first Design Biennale Rotterdam will prove to be a platform for critical engagement with design’s role in shaping contemporary culture and urban life.