Born in 1965 in Soest, Netherlands, Jurgen Bey currently works in Rotterdam. Known as a critical designer, and likening himself to an explorer sent on a mission to investigate, pose questions and discover, Bey is widely celebrated for his uncanny ability to use design as a provocative vehicle to challenge conventional mainstream ideas.
Deriving from defiance against logic, Bey’s groundbreaking designs are more often than not motivated by his desire to develop an alternative reading of the world. Most exemplary of this work include exhibition design of the Droog collection at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam; the backdrop of Jean-Paul Gaultier’s 2004 women’s summer collection show; product designs for Swarovski, interior design for an HSL high-speed train; a nine-metre long city bench for Tokyo; and his evolving expression on mobility and the “progressive office”.
Studio Makkink & Bey is led Bey and his wife architect Rianne Makkink. Supported by a design team, since 2002 the practice has been taking a critical stance towards the design of public space, architecture, interiors, exhibitions and products.
With its location housed in an old industrial building, the studio’s entire production team operates as one entity and includes experts of various disciplines ranging from fashion, design and architecture. The cross-wiring between the different areas of expertise helps the practice sample new insights and perspectives, which are utilzed entensively throughout the design process. In constant movement, stories, study and research are purposed into solutions for a perpetually changing environment. The goal of Studio Makkink & Bey is to entice a new design culture by showing new alternatives through critical design. Analytical design is a fundamental requirement for a new culture in a city, whether it is a public building or a private house.
