More homes, less buildings: how do we make room for life?
Our lives change. Our buildings, ownership structures and ideas about private space often remain fixed. Alongside building new homes, how can Eindhoven make better use of the buildings and spaces already here?
At this Eindhoven City Vision edition of the EHV Innovation Café, Monique Donker of Living LAB 040 and designer Mars Holwerda, representing Radical Chains Domestic, explore the relationship between what design makes possible and what people are willing and able to adopt.
What do we need to keep to ourselves, what could we share, and how can those boundaries change with our lives? Privacy, comfort and autonomy matter. So do the materials, energy and land our ways of living require. Could adapting existing buildings and sharing selected facilities make room for more varied lives while supporting wellbeing and using fewer resources?
Featuring
Monique Donker | Living LAB 040
Connecting people, technology and stakeholder values to make innovation work in everyday life.
Mars Holwerda | MOMdesign / Radical Chains Domestic
Exploring how spaces and materials can adapt to life through circular design.
Join designers, technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers and residents of different generations to explore what needs to change in our spaces, habits and agreements. At the EHV Innovation Café, the discussion is not the afterthought. It is the main act.
This event connects with Eindhoven’s city goal of suitable housing from young to old and invites residents to help shape the city’s future. We are Inclusive by Default and Give to Grow.
Thursday 26 November 2026 | Kazerne Downtown Eindhoven
Walk in 17:30 | Start 18:00
English spoken | Free entrance | Open to all
Monique Donker is co-founder and director of LL040, the company behind Living LAB 040, a real-world laboratory in an Eindhoven residential neighbourhood. She brings people, technology and different perspectives together to advance inclusive, sustainable and healthy cities. After studying Building Technology at TU/e, she worked at Stichting Slimbouwen and completed a PDEng researching the diffusion of innovation. She became an entrepreneur in 2016. Her practice combines technical knowledge with attention to stakeholder values, cross-sector collaboration and the social processes through which people adopt innovation. She also supports organisations with innovation challenges and develops future-proof learning environments.
Mars Holwerda is an industrial designer with more than 30 years of experience. After graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 1991, he worked at TNO Industrie, where he became involved in ecodesign, and at several major design agencies. In 2002 he founded studioMOM, now MOMdesign, to focus on sustainable design. His commissioned and self-initiated projects include the LAVO hydrogen bicycle and MyHelmet, a biobased helmet concept using mycelium. Inspired by Cradle to Cradle and biomimicry, he develops products and strategies for a circular economy. He has been a CIRCO/Circonnect trainer since 2017 and joins this conversation on behalf of Radical Chains Domestic.
Our events are open to all. Expect an evening with inspiring ideas, critical questions, and imaginative alternatives to the status quo. Mark the event in your calendar and secure your ticket here. Walk in is also possible but the seats for the debat are limited. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
17:30 Walk-in and networking, we’ll offer a free drink and a bite
18:00 Intro to the Special Guests followed by a moderated debate
19:00 Networking
19:30 Posibility to join the Meet-up dinner with the speakers