Dezeen picks: 12 unmissable things to see at DDW25

4 hours

For its 25th birthday, Dutch Design Week will present work by more than 2,500 designers and brands across 120 locations. Among our highlights is Studio Pauline van Dongen's Umbra Pavilion – the standout installation on Ketelhuisplein this year – covered by a solar textile canopy that provides shelter while also generating energy.

The Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show is always a must, but don't forget to check out some of the smaller showcases, too. The Class of 25 exhibition at Klokgebouw features students from eight European countries, while the German Design Graduates show, curated by Raw Color, takes over skatepark Area 51.

The rise of collectible design continues with the launch of the Forward Furniture show, set in a former dairy factory and organised by Liv Vaisberg, the powerhouse behind Brussels and New York design fair Collectible. Meanwhile, at de Kruisruimte, Show Not Show collective is showing work by seven designers, including brutalist furniture and experimental lighting.

For a more critical view on the business of design, Rotterdam's Nieuwe Instituut is hosting a talk on 22 October that explores how design weeks impact their host cities. With a similar aim, up-and-coming local designer Teun Zwets is showing his work from a trailer to highlight the growing struggle for independent makers to find a workspace in Eindhoven.

Several projects this year grapple with immigration and displacement. Among them is the speculative Gaza Travel Agency, which explores Palestinian's Right of Return, and an exhibition in the newly launched Kruisstraat Design District on the struggles of non-EU designers living in the Netherlands.

In happier news, prominent local studio Kiki & Joost is celebrating its 25th birthday this year with a show of new works and collaborations, and Hydro's much-hyped R100 exhibition, which debuted in Milan earlier this year, is returning to its origins in the Benelux area.

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