Cultural heritage and social innovation: research into the Colony of Benevolence Veenhuizen

In 2023, the Colony of Benevolence Veenhuizen was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Three research associates together with Bachelor and Master's student are exploring how to highlight and reinterpret the rich historical site in engaging ways, using the lanscape as a backdrop. They spent prolonged periods of time in Veenhuizen.

Jaïr van Dijk’s research examines how archives shape the way we understand people and places. Building on his MA thesis in History at the University of Amsterdam—where he studied social services and court records to analyze not just the content but also the methods, forms, and language used to construct knowledge about individuals—he now applies this lens to Veenhuizen. His initial findings show that Veenhuizen’s history extends beyond its national disciplinary role: it was a culturally diverse, transnational hub where religious communities and international exchanges coexisted within institutional frameworks. By uncovering these overlooked layers, Jaïr reframes Veenhuizen as a space of cultural encounter rather than solely a site of social control.

Freja Kræmmer Nielsen’s project investigated how the landscape and design of Veenhuizen influenced human behaviors and moral values over time. By analysing elements such as plaques, houses, and gardens in relation to social status, she aims to uncover hidden symbols and values. She created a “deep map” that layers this information and reveals the interaction between the landscape and societal lessons. In May she presented her field research, together with the maps and diagrams that visualise how ecological and social structures in Veenhuizen changed over time. She introduced the three key agents she identified and focused on in her study: management, voluntary inhabitants, and involuntary inhabitants. She looked at how the experience of the place was dependent on the status and role one had and designed an immersive tour to enable people to experience and explore these perspectives firsthand using the landscape as a backdrop.

Olga Korosteleva’s research examined the relationship between prisons, healing, and the landscape in Veenhuizen, paying attention to both human and non-human elements, such as animals, plants, and ecosystems. She studied how the land has historically been arranged for human needs and how it can be "healed" to support all species. Through field walks and mapping landscape management over time, she drew parallels between managing the minds of prisoners and managing the environment.

→ More Info here: https://www.designacademy.nl/page/6780/research-into-the-colony-of-benevolence-veenhuizen

→ Olga Korosteleva’s Publication here: https://issuu.com/designacademy/docs/landscape_with_a_band-aid_by_olga_korosteleva

→ A publication is forthcoming in February 2026 of a book edited by Naomi Bueno de Mesquita, showcasing research from SI-LAB in collaboration with game designers from BUas and HKU. The book will serve as a stepping stone towards a new four-year collaboration with regional partners, with a stronger focus on interdisciplinary research in cultural heritage contexts.

Jaïr Salomon van Dijk is a Master’s student in History at the University of Amsterdam. His research spans Sephardic Jewish history in the Netherlands and Curaçao, as well as the regulation of homosexual welfare applicants in Amsterdam between 1930 and 1945. Within the research group, he focuses on the Colonies of Benevolence, exploring histories of poverty policy, forced labor, and social exclusion through archival research.

Freja Kræmmer Nielsen is a researcher and designer, unfolding questions of social and ecological character. Her practice is based on field research, mapping and material development, and she holds a MA degree in Social Design (Design Academy Eindhoven), and a BA in Textile Design (Designskolen Kolding).

Olga Korosteleva is a designer and graduate of the Master CIL program at Design Academy Eindhoven. Her work explores the relationship between humans and the Dutch peat landscape, drawing on thinkers such as Donna Haraway and Karen Barad. Through storytelling and embodied artistic methods, she reframes human-environment interactions and offers new perspectives.