Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2024
The Evoluon Museum
by M plus R Interior Architecture
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Next Nature
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 24,175
- Verification code B309BE0386 · Verify this award
About The Evoluon Museum
Commissioned by Next Nature, taking the challenge of revitalizing the entrance, lounge, restaurant, and meeting rooms of the Evoluon with limited resources. The goal: to restore the monument's original essence while eliminating clutter. The circular design approach, by utilizing existing furnishings with a fresh blue "skin" to maintain the building's integrity. This blue symbolizes purity and the future, aligning with Next Nature's branding and Philips' legacy. The interior is made of environmentally friendly materials and furniture of local designers.
Within the evolving tradition of museum experience design where commercial necessity meets educational mission, Hans Maréchal's interior for The Evoluon Museum demonstrates a sophisticated synthesis of retail functionality and exhibition sensibility that honors both contemporary visitor expectations and historical precedents of knowledge presentation. The designer appears to have drawn thoughtfully upon the Wunderkammer tradition of early modern curiosity cabinets where natural specimens, scientific instruments, and objects of wonder were assembled to inspire contemplation and learning, translating this encyclopedic impulse into a contemporary visual vocabulary through the illustrated wall treatment that surrounds visitors with a cosmology of natural forms. The chromatic strategy employs a masterful complementary relationship between the warm amber timber ceiling and the cool cerulean furniture elements, creating visual energy and spatial definition while the neutral grey floor and charcoal wall provide grounding and backdrop respectively. Technical accomplishment is evident in the precision of the mobile display units whose clean geometric profiles and consistent powder-coat finish suggest industrial quality while their wheels indicate flexibility and adaptability to changing programmatic needs. The ceiling treatment merits particular attention for its contribution to acoustic comfort and visual warmth, the linear rhythm of timber battens creating directional emphasis while their natural material qualities soften what might otherwise become an austere institutional environment. Thematic content revolves around the celebration of natural diversity and scientific inquiry, with the illustrated specimens ranging across biological kingdoms and scales from microscopic to megafauna, suggesting the museum's engagement with evolutionary narrative and biodiversity appreciation. The spatial arrangement invites circulation and discovery, with furniture positioned to create implicit pathways while leaving generous open floor area for gathering and movement. One might consider how this environment bridges the threshold between learning and acquisition, between contemplation and commerce, asking visitors to engage with knowledge as both intellectual pursuit and material pleasure.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This design for the Evoluon 'out of the blue' in Eindhoven epitomizes innovation and excellence. Its distinctive architecture seamlessly blends modernity with functionality, setting it apart from conventional structures. Strengths include its iconic aesthetic, sustainable features, and seamless integration with the surrounding environment. All elements of the new interior, made from sustainable and reuseable materials, are colored in a special blue.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The idea for the design of the public areas is that everything is circular and can be optimally reused. For the loose furnishings, we chose chairs and tables by Eindhoven Designers and Artists: Maarten Baas; Joep van Lieshout; Piet Hein Eek; Michiel van der Kley and for the terrace and lounge, we designed a special modular bench in the shape of an X.
The cladding of the existing objects in the Evoluon are done in the environmentally friendly OSB sheet material made from wood chips combined with marmoleum for the floor finish and tops of the bars etc. - Tags
- Distinctive, innovative, different, attractive, reusable, sustainable, blue, timeless, smart, architecturehttps://www.mplusr.nl/en/portfolio/evoluon
- Production Technology
- The interior design consists of sustainable and reusable biobased materials. The selected products and materials are sustainably produced and can be reused after use. The loose furniture has a unique number tag so that it can be auctioned off after use. The idea is that the interior will be changed after 5 years and the chairs and tables, which are all by well-known Eindhoven designers, will be sold through a special auction with a certificate, number and unique number tag. The monumental building has been brought back to its original look, all the new elements have the color blue.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge was an affordable concept, to develop within the monumental building with its beautiful architecture without violating the appearance of the building. The budget was limited and the requested program of requirements was comprehensive. By executing the new interior in a recognizable color, the building is easily readable and does not violate the architecture of 1966.
- Project Duration
- Start concept and design: January 2022
opening: September 2022 - Operation Flow
- On September 24, 1966, the Evoluon opened its doors. It was a gift from Philips to the city for their 75th anniversary. Soon the Evoluon became known worldwide for its unique shape and for making science and technology accessible and understandable for everyone. In 1989 the Evoluon was closed by Philips after which it functioned mainly as a congress center. On Saturday, September 24, 2022, the Evoluon is reopened as a museum with the first exhibition 'Retro Future' by Next Nature Network.
- Research
- Next Nature asked to develop the concept and design for the entrance, lounge, restaurant and meeting rooms. The challenge was how, with 'limited' resources, we could create an attractive and also circular design for this national monument in which the building will be recovered in its original form and undo the 'clutter'. The approach is that, everything new into the building, is given a clear signature and also maximum use of the existing furnishings by providing it with a 'new skin' in the recognizable color blue. By consistently executing everything new and also temporary in this color blue, adding an extra layer to the monumental building, so that the original appearance remains very readable, the interior is temporary and transient. The color blue is not determined "out of the blue", it is a primary color that stands for pure and clean and is also often associated with technology and future, in painting, blue plays a major role in atmospheric perspective. The color blue also appears in the branding of Next Nature and is the color of initiator of the Evoluon: Philips.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration behind the project stemmed from the desire to rejuvenate the Evoluon into a modern, sustainable space while honoring its rich history. The motive was to create a circular design within limited resources, maintaining the monument's integrity. Drawing from the Evoluon's iconic blue hue, the design merges past and future, symbolizing purity and technological progress. Collaborations with local designers and artists further enriched the project.
- Image Credits
- photographer: Herman de Winter
architect: M+R interior architecture bna bni
Colors of The Evoluon Museum
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