Students of the Willem de Kooning Academy are taking over OMI this Christmas break with the exhibition ‘Designing for in-between spaces’. With wax paper models, kinetic installations and illustrated stories, they transform Rotterdam cultural buildings from the 1980s. Central to all the designs is the interaction between indoor and outdoor space. With what interventions do you give passers-by and visitors a unique, urban experience in the centre of Rotterdam?

The cultural buildings around Schouwburgplein become part of the public space with the ‘Red Staircase’ to the roof of De Doelen and an amphitheatre in front of the Schouwburg. A transparent octopus slide offers a unique ‘exit experience’ from the Maritime Museum. And in the Central Library, cheerful reading bubbles ensure that every visitor can quietly read a book in this public place.