A bygone world

Museum De Timmerwerf, De Lier (NL), 2020

Light shines. Sounds are heard. For a moment, it’s as if the old carpentry workshop is back in business. And the 21st century is still hundreds of years in the future.

Crowdfunding

From 1642 until 1999, the building that houses Museum De Timmerwerf was in continuous use as a carpentry workshop. The skills were passed down through the generations, along with the tools, which remain in the attic today. With Studio Louter, the museum developed a plan to use those tools to tell tales of a bygone world in a contemporary way. A crowdfunding campaign made it possible to realise the plan.

Son et Lumière

In the museum’s attic, projections and a sound and light show place each tool in the spotlight. Bit by bit, the carpenters’ lost world comes alive. Sawing and hammering is heard, and a voiceover sweeps visitors up in the story of the 350-year-old workshop. A graphic layer provides historical and technical information about the objects.

Heritage lives on

Through an in-depth interactive screen, visitors can learn more and see film footage of the tools in action. They were used for purposes such as windmill maintenance, water pump construction and haystack building. The mills may be gone, but the tools and stories live on at Museum De Timmerwerf.

“In the new layout, the same historical treasures tell the story, with each unique tool receiving attention.”

Henk van Lenteren, Museum chairman — 1 December 2017

Credits

Client
Museum De Timmerwerf

Content Design
Studio Louter

Graphic Design
Studio Louter

Film Production
De Timmerwerf
Studio Louter

Sound Design
KlevR sounddesign

Light Design
Tinus Holthuis

Hardware
Moetwil en van Dijk