Sxxx,2017-03-12,TR,005,Bs-4C,E1
CMYK
THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017
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EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS
From Factory Town to Vibrant Hub Eindhoven B
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Brouwerij het Veem Ketelhuis
Urban Shopper TO
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Yksi Expo K A S TA N J E L A A N
The sprawling factory complex in Eindhoven that housed the Dutch manufacturing giant Philips is now a vibrant hub showcasing design shops, dining spots, a gallery of cutting-edge art and festive events. After Philips moved its headquarters in 1998 to Amsterdam, nearly 80 miles away, this company town reinvented itself as a center for design and technological innovation. Nowhere is Eindhoven’s makeover more evident than at Strijp S (pronounced “Stripe S”), the former Philips complex. Dormant factory space has become residential lofts, shared creative workspaces, boutiques and restaurants. The complex also serves as center stage for the monthly food and craft FeelGood Market and the annual Dutch Design Week.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ILVY NJIOKIKTJIEN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ketelhuis
MU When this art space relocated from downtown Eindhoven to Strijp S in 2014, it doubled its space, allowing ample room for large installations and edgier experimental art. Shows often mix design, music, technology, new media and social commentary. Every fall MU organizes an exhibit to complement Dutch Design Week. Torenallee 40-06; 31-40-296-1663; mu.nl
MI X I N G M U S I C , NEW M E D I A AN D S O C I A L CO M M E N TA RY.
Yksi Expo
Brouwerij het Veem
Nearly every visit to this cheery jumble of individually rented kiosks offers a new discovery. It includes a trendy barbershop, children’s wear, bicycles, and, most recently, goods from Iceland and Iran. Torenallee 60-02; urbanshopper.nl; no phone
A spinoff of the local design firm of the same name, Yksi was the first retail outlet in Strijp S, in 2011, and grew to be the region’s most comprehensive source of Dutch design items, many from Design Academy Eindhoven graduates. A recent store revamp reserves less space for objects, more for rotating exhibits of known and emerging designers, who also give talks and demonstrations.
This microbrewery and beer cafe opened in 2015 in the new Vershal (Fresh Hall), a kiosk market with everything from cheese and flowers to spices and slices. Along with concocting a few namesake brews, the third-generation cafe owner Daan van Stiphout aims to give a big stage to small regional brewers. Torenallee 86;
Torenallee 22-04; 31-40-780- 5033; yksi.nl
UPDATE
RUTH FREMSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Plastic cups are also to blame when your drinks don’t taste as good while you are on a plane.
Tailoring Tastes in the Air Finally, beer may start tasting good at 30,000 feet. Airlines, which usually get a bad rap for bad food and so-so drinks, are starting in earnest to plug the sensory gap. They are aided by the knowledge that noise, low pressure, dry air and plastic cutlery and cups are also largely to blame for meals that taste less than appetizing. Studies have shown that those factors alter the way we taste things at high altitude compared with when we’re on the ground. In February, Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong carrier, introduced on some flights a beer brewed to taste good while the flier is miles above the earth. It contains honey and “dragon eye,” a fruit that tastes like lychee. “We know that when you fly, your sense of taste changes,” Julian Lyden, marketing manager at Cathay Pacific, said in an interview. “Airlines address this for food in certain ways.” For example, background noise on the plane suppresses sweet and salty taste, said Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University who advises airlines on food and is set to publish a book on “gastrophysics.” Our sensitivity to sweet and salty foods drops by about 30 percent in the air, according to a 2010 study commissioned by Lufthansa and conducted by the Fraunho-
Ketelhuisplein 1; 31-6-87-24-73-48; ketelhuis.com
Urban Shopper
DIANE DANIEL
By KIMIKO de FREYTAS-TAMURA
With its location on a main square of the complex, large deck and cozy interior in what was a boiler house, the Ketelhuis serves as the pulse of Strijp S. It stands apart in its reliance on local produce.
fer Institute for Building Physics in Germany. At high altitudes, only umami — the pleasant, savory “fifth” taste beloved by Japanese chefs — is enhanced for reasons that are not entirely clear. So Bloody Marys, which contain the umami-rich tomato and Worcestershire sauce, taste far better in the sky than on the ground. It’s the most consumed cocktail on passenger flights, airlines say. In addition to white noise, low humidity and low pressure affect the way and the order in which molecules travel to our senses, said Peter Barham of the University of Bristol, another expert on the science of taste. At 30,000 feet, cabin air is drier than the air in most deserts. That impairs our sense of smell, from which most of our taste is derived. Some airlines have experimented with what Mr. Spence called “sonic seasoning,” like playing tinkling music or offering plates and glasses that make that sound, because it brings out the sweetness in meals. Some wines fare better than others, he noted, particularly those from countries like Chile, where grapes are grown and blended at high altitudes. Champagne, meanwhile, is probably best avoided while flying, some food experts say, even if airlines lavish high-end passengers with Dom Pérignon or Krug Grande Cuvée. An experiment by the French Champagne
producer Taittinger in 2010 showed that the aroma lessens with altitude and that bubbles stick to the sides of the glass. Mikkel Borg Bjergso was the first to brew beer specifically for an airline. Since 2014, his company, Mikkeller, based in Copenhagen, has made 10 beers for the Scandinavian airline SAS. He is expected to roll out six new ones this year from his brewery outside Ghent in Belgium. The airline has gone through about two million of his bottled and canned beers. “It’s becoming a trend because there is big competition on customer experience,” Mr. Bjergso said, adding that he has been approached by another airline. “SAS is spending a lot of energy on food and beverage,” he said, including special apple juice produced on a small farm in Norway. After several experiments, including drinking 25 types of beer at 30,000 feet, Mr. Bjergso concluded that more dominant flavors, like bitterness, stood out. Beer also tends to foam more because of the difference in air pressure, he said, so carbon dioxide is taken out and put into Champagne bottles, which can resist air pressure better than normal bottles. “Imagine your favorite meal — it tastes great,” Mr. Barham said. “But if it’s served in a plastic container and you’re squashed elbow to elbow between two people, it doesn’t taste so good.”
31-6-13-81-26-16; brouwerijhetveem.nl