Design Museum Gent — DING Opening Exhibition 2026
Following its presentation at MAD Brussels, the Birdhouse Tree finds a new home at Design Museum Gent, becoming part of the museum’s grand reopening celebration on October 3, 2026.
The installation marks the opening of DING, the museum’s long-awaited new wing—a five-level extension that completes a transformation more than three decades in the making.
The Birdhouse Tree stands among the first works to inhabit the renewed museum, where 18th-century architecture meets contemporary design in a seamless union. Designed by TRANS architectuur, Carmody Groarke, and RE-ST, the new wing embodies circularity and sustainability, built entirely from wood and featuring the innovative Gent Waste Brick—a facing brick pressed from the city’s own waste streams.
Van Donselaar’s work enters a collection spanning from Art Nouveau masters Henry van de Velde and Victor Horta to contemporary Belgian designers like Maarten Van Severen and Muller Van Severen. The museum’s renewed presentation, digitized during its closure, creates an interactive journey through design history—from applied arts to material futures.
The Birdhouse Tree resonates with Design Museum Gent’s commitment to making design accessible to all. Originally conceived for the Home Sweet Home exhibition curated by Connie Hüsser, the installation brings together Van Donselaar’s signature material exploration with the universal symbol of shelter and belonging.
The reopening weekend unfolds as a citywide design celebration, with Design Fest Gent running from October 3–11: ten days of exhibitions, studio visits, and installations throughout the city. The museum’s new wing offers free admission to its ground floor spaces, functioning as a permeable threshold between city and collection, outdoor terrace and inner garden.
Where the Brussels presentation explored the concept of home through intimate objects, the Gent installation situates the birdhouse within the broader narrative of Belgian design heritage—a tradition of craft, innovation, and the transformation of everyday objects into cultural touchstones.
