False Flat: Why Dutch Design is so Good

The Netherlands is currently one of the world’s poles of great modern design, a center of innovation and experimentation in architecture, urban planning, industrial design, and graphic design.

This book showcases the dynamism of contemporary Dutch design and, through a detailed exploration of the country’s geography, culture, and history, defines its particularities as a manifestation of things intrinsically "Dutch." Eschewing a traditional academic presentation, authors Aaron Betsky and Adam Eeuwens, together with the renowned Dutch book designer Irma Boom, have conceived a witty, multidimensional structure for the book that brings to life a prolific design culture in a rich landscape of interconnected stories.

False Flat consists of an introduction and five illustrated text chapters by Aaron Betsky, the director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute. These chapters are interspersed with 16-page sections consisting solely of selected images and extended captions, in a unique presentation conceived by Boom.

Aaron Betsky is director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi) in Rotterdam.