De Eindhovense School

In December 1988, the exhibition The Eindhoven School: The Modern Past opened at deSingel. The exhibition presented the work of twenty-three alumni of the Engineering Department at Eindhoven University of Technology and shone a spotlight on the emergence of a new type of architecture. Under the influence of the head of department Geert Bekaert, a stronger historical and theoretical consciousness developed. The architecture of the Eindhoven School liberated itself from the pragmatism of function and the aesthetic of form. Poetry was conceived that was carefully constructed from quotes and metaphors, references and analogies.

In 2020, the exhibition The Eindhoven School: a forgotten avant-garde offers a contemporary reflection on the position and impact of the Eindhoven School in and on Dutch architectural culture. The exhibition shows the intellectual context in which the architecture emerged and asks how the Eindhoven School should be remembered today. The interplay between discourse and practice serves as a foundation. The work of Geert Bekaert, Joost Meuwissen and Gerard van Zeijl (the three curators of the original exhibition) focuses on the discourse, while built and unbuilt projects from the Eindhoven School examine the architectural practice. Material from the design studios and research projects at TU Eindhoven demonstrate how discourse and practice were deliberately interwoven.