Guest speakers

Three cities. Three inspiring venues. A carefully curated programme of lectures.

For the Pluspoint RiverEvent, BNI has put together a programme of talks that brings together design, innovation, craftsmanship and current social issues. The talks take you on a journey from floating communities and new ways of living on the water to the hidden world of yacht interiors, the design philosophy behind 25 years of Shaping Intuition®, EGM’s interior design projects and the way in which the Verka factory evolved into a cultural icon. Stories about craftsmanship, innovation, identity and the role of design in a changing society.

Our other guest speaker is Lianne Bongers, a leading figure in biophilic design. She investigates how our built environment directly influences our wellbeing, our health and our performance.

Planning

Time	Amsterdam • 29 September • Veemkade	Rotterdam • 30 September • Piet Smitkade	Den Bosch • 1 October • Brabanthallen
11:30	Design for Health: The Power of Biophilic Design	Design for Health: The Power of Biophilic Design	Design for Health: The Power of Biophilic Design
14:00 – BNI	Beyond the Dikes: Living Together on a Floating Community	Beyond the Dikes: Living Together on a Floating Community	Beyond the Dikes: Living Together on a Floating Community
16:00 – BNI	The Art of the Invisible: yacht interior	The Art of the Invisible: yacht interior	The Art of the Invisible: yacht interior
17:00 – BNI	25 year Shaping Intuition®	Docked at EGM Interiors	The Building as a Canvas: Verkadefabriek

Contents of the lectures

Beyond the Dikes

Lunch Lecture: Living Together on the Water

How do you design not just homes, but sustainable communities? And how do you develop them so they’re fully floating and affordable? During this inspiring lunchtime lecture, Tijmen Kuyper, Collective Housing Architect at De Drijvende Kracht, will share the knowledge, perseverance, and collaboration needed to develop new forms of housing in a rapidly changing world. Using De Drijvende Kracht’s Delta Domus—a floating social housing cooperative currently under development—as an example, you’ll discover how something that has never been built before can still be a logical solution to climate adaptation, loneliness, and the housing crisis. A story about looking ahead, learning from the past, and daring to innovate.

Because if the Netherlands wants to remain a prosperous country 100 years from now, we will not only have to build sustainably. We will also have to live together differently and have the courage to look beyond the dikes once again, together.

Speaker: Tijmen Kuyper

Tijmen Kuyper combines a background in the social sciences (Social Geography, University of Amsterdam) with a design perspective (Architecture, Delft University of Technology). These two perspectives come together in his book *Architecture for Community*. As the founder of CoWonen Architect & Advies, he researches and advises residents’ initiatives, developers, architects, and municipalities, and he recently conducted research for the Chief Government Architect and Platform31. In addition, he works at De Drijvende Kracht on the development of affordable floating housing cooperatives and coordinates the Floating Housing Manifesto.

The Art of the Invisible

Why a luxury yacht interior is all about what you don’t see

When you step aboard a luxury superyacht, you see perfectly finished furniture, exclusive materials, and an interior that exudes exclusivity, comfort, and craftsmanship. But what don’t you see? Behind every wall, every ceiling, and every piece of furniture lies a world of technology, regulations, engineering, material choices, and collaboration among dozens of specialists. A world where every millimeter counts and where aesthetics, functionality, and safety come together.

During this inspiring presentation, Andries van Baren takes you behind the scenes of the international superyacht industry. Through real-world examples, you’ll discover why luxury yacht interiors are among the most complex interior design projects in the world—and what lessons architects, interior design professionals, and project teams can learn from them.

A unique glimpse into a hidden world where craftsmanship, innovation, and precision complement one another.

Speaker: Andries van Baren

Andries van Baren has more than 30 years of experience in luxury yacht interior design, working at leading yacht builders and interior design firms in roles related to engineering, project coordination, and interior implementation. He is the founder of Yacht Interior College and the author of the book *Yacht Interiors Explained: From Concept to Completion*. His work focuses on preserving and passing on practical knowledge to the next generation of professionals.

Docked at EGM Interiors

Two designers who changed course

Two years ago, Avelien Thoben and Nelleke Minten changed course. They left their own practice and brought all their knowledge and experience with them to EGM Interiors, one of the specialties of EGM Architects. For both of them, this was a well-considered move aimed at applying interior architecture more broadly and across a wider range of sectors.

Through challenging projects for UMC Utrecht, Maastricht UMC, Magnum Ice Cream, and the new city hall currently under construction in Oosterhout, Avelien and Nelleke demonstrate what makes their work so special. These projects vary greatly in content, but they approached them all with the same question in mind: How does a space affect a person? A story about scale, about hard and soft, and about designs in which the interior is an integral part from the very beginning.

Speakers: Avelien Thoben and Nelleke Minten

Avelien Thoben (1984, Nijmegen) and Nelleke Minten (1985, Wanroij) work at EGM Interieur, the interior design label of EGM Architects. Every day, they marvel at the profession they love and pursue with passion to provide people with a pleasant space in a healthy building. Their field of work is broad and includes retail spaces, city halls, offices, hospitality venues, hospitals, and embassies. They create surprising interior design solutions for discerning clients, using innovative materials and high-tech technologies.

The Building as a Canvas

Art as the Starting Point for the Renovation of the Verkadefabriek (Den Bosch)

The Verkadefabriek was in need of a redesign, more than 20 years after the former cookie factory had been transformed into a cultural gathering place. Avant-garde and art had to blend with the building’s historical identity, while also aiming to attract a broader, younger, and more inclusive audience. Because this hotspot is open every day, the renovation required careful planning and coordination.

studio RIANKNOP took art in all its facets as its starting point. After a thorough analysis of the users and the history of the site, the various areas were developed phase by phase, from concept development to design. Both the building and all its spaces were viewed as a canvas for art; to this end, the studio collaborated with artists who created works specifically for the respective spaces—works that invite conversation.

By integrating art in this way and focusing on reuse and locally produced materials, each space was given its own identity within a single cohesive whole. The existing qualities and historical elements were preserved wherever possible and combined with new design elements.

Speaker: Rian Knop

studio RIANKNOP, an Amsterdam-based interior architecture studio, creates distinctive interiors: highly conceptual designs that tell a story in which the client, users, building, and architect come together. Always grounded in organizational strategy, designed with intuition, and implemented with exceptional functionality. This exploration of the core of the story forms the foundation of a custom-developed (interior) design.

25 year Shaping Intuition®

25 years of designing spaces where people come together

How can design bring people together? Barbara Dujardin and David Hernandez Lopez from
HofmanDujardin will take you on a journey about the creation of connection by means of design. With
an international character and team of architects and interior designers, HofmanDujardin has been
working on a myriad of architectural and transformative projects. On all types of scales, for well over 25
years. Their underlying philosophy relies on the curation and creation of spaces that invite collaboration,
connection, and inclusivity, namely Shaping Intuition. How this sense of connection is created will be
explained and explored, through a revisitation of realized projects as well as future endeavors. From
large-scale campuses in Prague to interiors and renovations in Amsterdam, their design philosophy
ultimately puts intuitive, human needs at the center, from which sharp, personal, and mostly high-quality
designs flow. HofmanDujardin’s Shaping Intuition proposes the users’ wellbeing as the design’s inherent
intention.

This presentation will be held in English.

Speakers: Barbara Dujardin en David Hernandez Lopez

Barbara Dujardin is co-founder as well as partner architect of HofmanDujardin. Founded in 1999 together
with Michiel Hofman. Together with architect and interior project leader, David Hernandez Lopez, they will
host this panel.

Design for Health:

The Power of Biophilic Design

On average, we spend 85 per cent of our time indoors, yet our bodies still crave light, greenery and movement. In this talk, interior designer Lianne Bongers, founder of the Biophilic Design Academy, will take you through the science behind biophilic design. You’ll discover how nature in the built environment can reduce stress by up to 60 per cent and cut absenteeism due to illness by up to 37 per cent, and what that means for the spaces in which you work and live.

In her talk ‘Designing for Health: The Power of Biophilic Design’, Lianne demonstrates how we can once again consciously incorporate nature into our buildings and interiors, and what measurable impact this can have on stress, wellbeing and absenteeism.

Speaker: Lianne Bongers

Lianne Bongers is the founder of the Biophilic Design Academy and one of the driving forces behind biophilic design in the Netherlands. Drawing on her background in interior design, she is committed to creating environments that restore the connection between people and nature. In her work, she combines scientific insights with design, health and wellbeing. Her belief is that our built environment has a major influence on how we feel, function and recover. By consciously incorporating nature into design, spaces are created that contribute to the health of people, animals and the planet.