DAE Moves

The location of DAE’s new building from 2028 is within the Kanaalzone planning area, Kanaaldijk Zuid 3-5. It is next to the former Campina factory, which DAE hosted its Graduation Show in 2018 and 2019.

De Witte Dame has been the home for the Academy since 1997, the same year that the school renamed itself from Academie voor Industriële Vormgeving (AIVE) to Design Academy Eindhoven.

In 2022, it became known that DAE’s current lease with De Witte Dame will end in 2027. After two years of searching, including a proposal from the city of Roermond and early exploration with Microlab in Strijp-S, no suitable location was found by May 2024, due to the requirement of 10,000 m2 of floor space to properly carry out all our educational programmes, as well as the necessity to provide 250 student accommodation units.

After concerted efforts from the local Eindhoven design community, many of whom are alumni and educators at DAE, rallying together for the Academy to remain in the city, this public attention generated interest from multiple real estate companies. In this two month process, and after careful consideration from the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, a new location in the Kanaalzone has been agreed between the Academy, the municipality of Eindhoven and real estate company GEVA Vastgoed, who are the owners of the site.

In the early months of 2025, many participation meetings were held with internal community members, inducing students, workshop instructors, educational and organisational staff members regarding the needs and desires of the new building, which has been fed back into planning and design.

In April 2025,  it was also agreed that the lease with De Witte Dame will be extended to 2028 keeping the majority of the currently used space, ensuring a smooth transition and the least interruption to education.

On 26 June 2025, DAE spent its first evening at the Kanaalzone, meeting its future neighbours to imagine what kinds of future collaboration could emerge.

Over the summer of 2025, the architect of the new building will be selected, with the expectation of a result by the end of the summer. In the meanwhile, a transition team has been assembled to rearrange the spaces within De Witte Dame.

DAE will extend its stay in De Witte Dame until 2028. The extension was partly achieved through cooperation with and efforts from the Municipality of Eindhoven and landlord Profinn. It is a joint solution that DAE will hand over some spaces in phases for Profinn to redevelop the building, in return for a smooth transition towards DAE's relocation.

From January 2026, middenmotief and the auditorium is returned. In January 2027, the 5th floor and the ZBAR will have to be revised. A transition team is assemble to puzzle the remaining spaces to ensure the least interruption to the education and work environment.

→ Why did DAE have to move?
The current lease with De Witte Dame will end in January 2027 and property owner has plans to redevelop the building. Since the announcement of the new locations, new lease has been negotiated, and DAE will now remain in De Witte Dame until summer of 2028. 

→ When will the actual move take place?
The actual move will take place over the summer holiday of 2028 to ensure minimal interruption to education. 

→ How was the new location of Kanaalzone selected?
DAE set out its searches with the curial requirement, among other things, that 10,000 m2 of floor space and 250 housing accommodations for incoming first year students. The selection of De Kanaalzone was made after many months of searches - multiple proposals from real estate companies as well as from the city of Roermond were considered. Ultimately, the Kanaalzone met all the requirements and had been agreed in July 2024 between the Academy, the municipality of Eindhoven and real estate company GEVA Vastgoed, who are the owners of the site. A tailor-made state-of-the-art campus will be built specifically for the Academy in the developing area, providing a lot of potential for growth, innovation, creativity and inspiration. It is going to be a great breeding ground for future designers. 

→ What is a participation meeting?
A participation meeting is when the future neighbours and stakeholders meet with DAE and the new campus’s developers to learn about the developments, ask questions and share ideas about what this new arrival could mean for both parties. DAE had its first participation meeting on 26 June. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Read more about DAE’s first evening in the Kanaalzone [here](link). 

 → Who is responsible in the selection of the architect of the new building?
The selection process is managed by R-ffect and the final decision will be made by property owner GEVA Vastgoed with close consultation with DAE. Ahead of this selection process, many participation meetings were held with internal community members, inducing students, workshop instructors, educational and organisational staff members regarding the needs and desires of the new building, which were then synthesised and fed back into planning and design.  

 → Who owns the new building? 
DAE will rent the building from local real estate company GEVA Vastgoed, who owns the site and the building. 

→ How could one be informed about the development and the milestones? 
This page will be updated periodically with the latest updates on the developments on the new campus as well as changes within De Witte Dame and the eventual move itself. 

 → Is any education affected upcoming three years? 
For MA students who are entering their first year in the 2025 Academy Year, your education will remain in De Witte Dame for its entire duration. For BA students who are entering their first year in the 2025 Academy Year, your final (fourth) year will take place in the new campus! The move itself will take place over the summer of 2028 to ensure minimal interruption to education.  

→ What will change in the current building, De Witte Dame? When? And how will this be communicated? 
DAE education will remain in De Witte Dame. It is agreed between the owner of the current building Profinn and DAE to extend its stay until 2028 under the conditions that DAE will hand over some spaces in phases for Profinn to redevelop the building, in return for a smooth transition towards DAE's relocation. From January 2026, middenmotief and the auditorium is returned. In January 2027, the 5th floor and the Zbar will have to be revised. A transition team is assembled to puzzle the remaining spaces to ensure the least interruption to the education and work environment. More specific changes will be announced in due time on this page and via internal emails.