Intimacy through architecture.

Frédérique Idája van Tilborg (Leiden, 1998) is a Dutch designer exploring different facets of intimacy through architecture. By researching different cultures and perspectives, she aims to understand humans’ interconnectedness. Growing up in an international environment challenged her to rethink the sense of belonging, and view relationships from a new point of view.

'In my work, I focus on how people use the space. How does space encourage people to meet? What feelings arise when entering a space? Are these feelings collective or purely individual? I look for the interaction between shape, material, and the user.’

Frédérique graduated in the summer of 2022 from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. After graduating, she started her own company Idája Design where she worked for municipality of Rotterdam, Ping Properties, and SHS Delft. She has done a design internship at Studio Makkink & Bey where she developed contextual thinking. Doing an architecture internship at AtelierPRO taught her how to make durable architecture with a high emphasis on the user. Frédérique is currently on exchange at the University of Melbourne as part of her Master’s program at TU Delft.

EDUCATION

Master’s exchange program → University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 2026
Master’s degree → TU Delft, Delft, 2025-2027
Pre-master → TU Delft, Delft, 2024-2025
Bachelor’s Degree → WDKA, Rotterdam, 2018-2022
Specialisation Minor → TU Delft, Delft, 2021-2022
Preparatory year → KABK, The Hague, 2017-2018
IB visual arts program → BISS Puxi, Shanghai 2015-2017

WORK EXPERIENCE

Spatial Designer → Idája Design, Den Haag, 2023 - now
Student Assistant → Delta Futures Lab, TU Delft, 2024 - now
Architecture internship → AtelierPRO, Den Haag, 2021
Design internship → Studio Makkink&Bey, Rotterdam, 2021
Guide&Guard → Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, 2019-2021