What does “Geselligkeit” (similar to danish: hygge / dutch: gezelligheid”) means for society? According to sociologist Georg Simmel, society is formed through interactions between people, which ultimately lead to the creation of interpersonal relationships. Being part of a society not only allows individuals to contribute to its development but also requires them to integrate into its systems of rules and norms.
What motivates an individual to be active in society? According to Simmel, it is the desire for sociability. This “Geselligkeit” emerges when each person knows how to tactfully integrate into society, while also being able to develop as an individual. This raises the question of how architecture, particularly interior design, can be crafted to provide space for the growth and formation of sociability within society.

The Hoogcruts Monastery has been plundered and burned twice and destroyed once since its founding in 1428. Over the years, the building has served as a monastery, private manor, children‘s home, Latin school, bank and ruin. These events are reflected in the building‘s walls and layout, telling a nearly 600-year-old story. Buildings cannot directly share their history over a glass of wine, but they do so indirectly, becoming part of our own stories and inviting us to imagine, interpret, and continue their narratives.

In recent years, a Dutch organization has been working to restore the monastery as a destination, café and meeting place. My design for the interior of the refectory at Hoogcruts Monastery includes the redesign of the former refectory, the access corridor and the moat area outside. My goal is to create a flexible and soft interior that tells a new story without permanently altering the existing structure, playing with the old, without overshadowing it.

Weaving creates a unified fabric from warp and weft, which have opposing properties. Textiles, by their nature, are mobile and flexible; they can be moved and transported, concealing and revealing. When the curtain rises, the show begins. The curtain symbolizes illusion and engages our imagination, while also telling its own story of creation, artistry, and the union of design and craft. Textiles are not only art; they function as space creators and provide protection from external elements like light, cold, and hardness.

Textiles are often dismissed as simple craft, yet they serve as both image and functional carrier. They are tools that bridge the boundaries between bodies and functions. It is in the nature of textiles to interact with other mediums such as light, temperature, people and space, becoming part of a new story.