Projects

The Hague, 1917. The Netherlands is neutral during the First World War. But the rise of armed aircraft jolts Minister of War Nicolaas Bosboom awake: the threat from the sky will only grow. He doesn’t wait. The army immediately begins building ground-based air defence.

Hindeloopen, July 1653. The Frisian coastal town is flourishing like never before. Though small in size, it plays a significant role in maritime trade. That summer, around eighty captains sail two or three times via the Baltic Sea to Scandinavia. They depart with Dutch products like gin and wool and return with the finest spruces.

Waalsdorpervlakte, 1936. Researcher Johan van Soest and committee member Carl von Weiler of the Commission for Physical Combat Resources are conducting experiments with radio equipment. They notice that birds interfere with the signals of the special transmitter-receiver. For Von Weiler, this is a eureka moment. A test with airplanes later confirms their finding: the radar principle has been discovered.

The Heritage Department of the Municipality of Utrecht used to be spread across several locations. Since the move, all 38 colleagues now share one space—and not just any space: a beautiful building on the Plompetorengracht. For the fit-out of their new home they brought in Ahrend Nederland, who in turn engaged SDB Vitrinebouw for our display-case expertise.

A display wall in the entrance hall, a display cabinet in the lunch and meeting room, and a fully transparent partition wall in the workspace of the Archaeological Fieldwork team—that was the brief we received via Ahrend from Erfgoed Utrecht. Archaeologist Herre Wynia and 3D visualizer Daan Claessen explain.

Delft, 1477. “Inden beghin sciep god hemel ende aerde.” These are the first printed Dutch words ever to roll off a press—the beginning of the Delft Bible. Only the “i” in “Inden” was added later by hand: in red, with beautiful ornamentation. The same was done for all the initial capitals of new paragraphs throughout the rest of the Bible.

Middelburg, October 1, 1761. Captain Jan Menkeveld raises the anchors of De Eenigheid, a ship of the Middelburg Commercial Company (MCC). The 36 crew members are about to embark on their triangular journey: from the North Sea via the West African coast to colonies in the Caribbean and the Americas (West Indies).

In and around Stadskasteel Zaltbommel, stories are everywhere—about the beautiful 16th-century building and its striking builder, the military commander Maarten van Rossum. There are also chronicles aplenty about the city and region, from prehistory to today. Visitors can now discover all these stories in a partly renewed museum—complete with SDB display cases.

Paris, October 4, 1883. The Orient Express is officially inaugurated. At 7:30 p.m., the steam train departs from the Parisian platform Gare de Strasbourg for a 76-hour journey to the Bulgarian port city of Varna. On board are distinguished guests, journalists, and Belgian engineer Georges Nagelmackers.

Oosterhout, February 12, 1956. In the Brabant city of Oosterhout (Easterwood del Carnavallo), under the leadership of Prince Mienus 1 and his Council of Eleven, the first public carnival kicks off. The residents have, among others, Leo Wellens to thank for this, as the founder of the Oosterhout Carnival Foundation, the Smulnarren, received the green light to celebrate the beginning of Lent in a festive manner. On the streets this time.