100%terschelling produces social design projects for dutch festival

100%terschelling produces social design projects for dutch festival
all images courtesy of elmo vermijs

social design, innovation, and sustainability presented in the most tangible and down to earth way are at the heart of ‘100%terschelling‘. because of these characteristics, the brand fits perfectly within the atmosphere of terschelling’s oerol festival. every june, terschelling island in the northern netherlands is transformed into a stage for theater, dance, art, and music. each discipline is performed around a theme of ‘sense of place’, which questions, ‘what do you take from your environment? but more importantly, what do you contribute back to it?’ over the last three years, with the generous support of stichting DOEN, the work has produced a series of thought provoking projects and products, each of them rooted in the island in their own unique way.

visitors walking around the pavilion

commissioned by oerol, elmo vermijs initiated a harvest and knowledge map that explores terschelling’s production processes, leftover materials, and expertise. the graphic resulted in the construction of the ‘100%terschelling pavilion’, which is now in use as meeting place for debates, lectures, and presentations. it sets an example for a social and local way of designing by involving residents and using readily available resources, thus ensuring less transport and promoting the municipality’s economy. eventually, more than 20 parties became involved in the building’s construction and as a result, each piece tells its own story of the island, giving the structure its unique character.

the final product of collaboration

infographic explaining the intricacies of the pavilion

as part of the festival’s expedition program, which operates on the cross section of art, nature, and landscape, the exhibition expands its activities towards the ‘100%terschelling cabin’ built by vermijs alongside leo van de ploeg. it is here, where multiple creators present projects and products with the local environment and materials as a starting point.

the cabin

atelier NL‘s ‘message in bottle’ is a combination of old wine bottles and sawdust. the necks have been cut down and their base has been stabilized by a wooden coaster to make a jar in which visitors can store their island memories.

‘message in a bottle’

crops and plants of the island are pressed through self-developed ecological technology. this can best be seen in studio tjeerd veenhoven’s ‘vegetation puzzle’ which features a silhouette of the land.

placing the pieces together

for their addition, studio jenske dijkhuis displays ‘het takmes’, a series of designs that combine old knives of local restaurants with branches of alder hedges to form new and unique cutting utensils.

slicing an apple

in collaboration with a local paper maker, cook, and biologist, artist erika blikman also contributed to the collection with ‘do roll’. in a former duck decoy, the audience is invited to taste sushi made from wild ingredients of the surrounding forest.

‘do roll’

‘new dune’ by eva arends and stan verbekt is a machine made of funnels and steel cables. the installation explores the relationship between landscape, art, and asks: ‘how can visitors contribute to the process of dune building?’ the result is a manipulation of the terrain that exposes the methods, patterns, and mechanisms used to cultivate the land.

visitors enjoying ‘new dune’

influenced by CMC-compost technology developed by pioneering farmer jelle cupido, the installation ‘compost-en-scene’ by architect and theater-maker marjolijn guldemond is meant to bring the landscape back to life. in order to do so, walls are built by placing compost within a formwork that creates the tapering shapes.

local residents building ‘compost-en-scene’

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.