According to Piet

Historical awareness cannot be imposed, but it can grow slowly. If you are surrounded by objects with a story, if culture and history are continuously present as a matter of course, they automatically become accessible, understandable, and part of existence. I hope everyone enjoys my designs. I hope they contribute to the knowledge of our cultural past and the understanding of our civilization.

About Piet Design

Piet Design was founded in 1990 by Elisabeth (Piet) Rijkels-Visser (1972). The design office specializes in historically sound, buildable products, often with a link to Dutch cultural history. In the 1980s, Piet already made houses, farms, and bridges from cardboard boxes to play with herself and the first commercial building plate appeared in her secondary school: Kasteel Groeneveld in Baarn. Numerous building boards followed. And while Piet studied architecture in Delft, Piet Design grew into the largest building board producer in the Netherlands.

Be part of the artwork

In addition to product development, Piet Design focuses on installations that allow the visitor to become part of the artwork itself. For example, Piet Design realized a tile exhibition in the Atrium in The Hague with a large labyrinth that especially young, waiting visitors made enthusiastic use of. Other expressions are, for example, the toilet installations at the Biennales in Museum Rijswijk. Piet makes art with a big U; the art of which you, the public, are a part.

Education

The third branch within Piet Design is education. Making cultural heritage accessible to the general and young public is one of its objectives. As with product development and art installations, this involves simplifying complex historical subjects into understandable, contemporary teaching material.