Strijp-S

Strijp-S was the heart of Philips: a walled industrial quarter of about twenty-seven hectares built from 1916 where radios, lamps and later televisions were made, closed to anyone without a pass and known as the Forbidden City. Philips moved production out and left in the 2000s, and the site was redeveloped rather than demolished - the Klokgebouw, the Apparatenfabriek and the high-rise Hoge Rug were kept and converted into studios, workspaces, housing, venues and a market, with the concrete structure and the industrial fittings left visible. It is now the centre of Eindhoven's design economy and the main site of Dutch Design Week each October, when the city fills with several hundred thousand visitors and the buildings become exhibition halls. Outside that week it is a working district with cafes, a skatepark and events, and it is uneven - some of it is polished and some is still raw.

History

In 1916 Anton Philips built the first factory at Strijp-S, a glass works for light bulbs, and radios and then televisions followed, under the motto "from sand to customer". Philips gradually left Eindhoven in the 1990s, the land was sold in 2002 for 140 million euros to a partnership of the city and VolkerWessels, and Philips fully withdrew in 2006 (Wikipedia, Strijp-S).

The main sights

• The Forbidden City - the walled Philips quarter, closed to outsiders until the 2000s.
• Converted factory halls - the Klokgebouw and others reused with the structure left visible.
• Dutch Design Week - the October event filling the buildings and the city.
• A working district - studios, housing and venues rather than a museum quarter.

When to go

April to October; October for Design Week. Half a day.

Things to know

Outside Design Week there is no single attraction - it is a district to walk. Design Week itself is extremely crowded and accommodation in Eindhoven sells out. Some buildings are private workspaces.

Nearby

The Philips Museum is in the city centre; Van Gogh Village Nuenen is north-east.

Key facts