Laurens Kolks

design - publieke ruimte - educatie - installatie - omgeving - schrijven

My work focusses on spatial design projects that explore possibilities for reshaping public spaces. Important points of departure are the Dutch urge for planning and the manufacturability of spatial experiences: design as a means for changing the perception of one's environment.
My work consists primarily of unique, site-specific designs and installations with a temporary or permanent character. The scale of the designs ranges from furniture and set designs to complete interiors and buildings.
My research investigates how various design approaches – through the design of objects, environments, systems and services – shape the entanglement of the social and the material to articulate public issues. Regarding the involvement of design practices with public and moral issues, my research intends to gain insight into how various design approaches contribute to the involvement of publics with collective concerns.


Laurens Kolks - A permanent installation consisting of a snow white, 'scaleless' church placed on a former scrapyard transformed into a synthetic hill in The Hague. Design: Laurens Kolks, concept: Laurens Kolks and Dennis Lohuis.
Laurens Kolks - A temporary installation located in a vacant commercial space in Breda's central railway station. Workshop concept, production and design of basic elements: Laurens Kolks. Text and installation design: Manon Keesmaat and Annelieke Rovers. Workshop team: Dilay Albayrak, Shannon Bos, Samantha Bronkhorst, Onno van den Dungen, Manon Dijkman, Maaike Groenheiden, Pien Herber, Julianne Hoekstra, Mees van den Hoogen, Mandy Hoogenboom, Manon Keesmaat, Jona Kortekaas, Annelieke Rovers, Milou Spieringhs, Brent Temmink.
The Weathermen’s Country Club [2012] - A temporary installation in public space that was part of the Koningstocht Art Route between Delden en Diepenheim in the Eastern part of the Netherlands.
Private investigations [2011, 2017] - The design of a boat referring to a limousine. In this project this elitist privacy vehicle is transformed into an accessible privacy vessel for the masses.
Plus [2008] - Permanent installation consisting of a concrete tile floor pattern, a cross-shaped greenhouse and a lighting scheme composition that are situated in the patio of the public school.
Hermit House [2010] - A house buil with urban driftwood, temporary located in the Rotte, the small 'river' that gave Rotterdam its name.
Abandoned Route / Wasted Space [2006] - Temporary installation on an abandoned road in Schalkhaar, the Netherlands.
Laurens Kolks - A temporary pavilion on a fortress of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie defense line. The pavilion offers a marvelous view of the surrounding flat landscape. There is a bench on which the public can have a seat. Incorporated in the bench are television sets that show live news via a CNN broadcast. A satellite dish on the roof of the pavillion transmits the signal to the tv sets.
Wildlife Observation Hut [2002] - An observation hut made out of scrap wood provides the public (the impatient urbanite) - from a freely accessible wooden structure in public space - with a programmed look at the 'wild' nature of Rotterdam's Zoo.
Furniture for Man and Dog [1999 – 2006] - A series of furniture for man and dog that allows room for intimacy.