Nieuwe Instituut Collection Platform
A digital platform for exploring the National Collection of Architecture and Urban Planning.
- Platform connecting over one million collection records
- Galaxy-style interface for intuitive, non-linear exploration
- Linked Open Data integration with global archives including Wikidata, Getty, and RKD
- Dual-layer design combining structured data with narrative content
- Fully bilingual, inclusive, and designed for future growth
- Creative direction and design concept
- Interface, interaction, and visual system design
- UX strategy and information architecture
- Integration with Linked Open Data infrastructure
- Accessibility and bilingual implementation
We worked with Nieuwe Instituut to design their collection platform, a new way to explore the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning. The platform treats over a million records as a living system rather than a static archive, allowing users to move intuitively among people, objects, and ideas.
Instead of searching for specific items, visitors navigate through a “galaxy” of relationships — archives, objects, people, and stories connected across multiple levels. A second, narrative layer reveals context and interpretation as you scroll, linking factual data to the stories that give it meaning. The design supports different kinds of curiosity — from casual browsing to deep research — with multiple zoom levels that encourage discovery at different scales while keeping the interface clear and minimal.
Built on Linked Open Data, the platform connects the National Collection with archives worldwide, including Wikidata, the Getty, and RKD. Every relationship is reciprocal: new information flows in from other institutions, while the platform’s own data remains open for reuse. This ongoing exchange turns the archive into a shared resource — a living network that grows through collaboration and care.
Bilingual, inclusive, and designed for growth, the collection platform evolves alongside the collection itself. Its interface is both a research tool and a publishing system, welcoming new voices and keeping the archive open, discoverable, and alive.