Anyone who enters the DAF Museum in Eindhoven (the Netherlands) literally cannot miss it: the detailed model of the historic main building of the Dutch truck manufacturer DAF. The maker: former DAF employee Rien Gerrits, one of the volunteers of the DAF Museum since 2018.
The level of detail is high. You can see the beautiful mural in the hall, dozens of figures of three centimeters high, each painted by hand. Even the monumental office of DAF founder Hub van Doorne is displayed behind one of the windows on the first floor.
Rien Gerrits started construction in 2013. “I was asked if I wanted to make the front facade of the DAF head office. Just flat, actually quite simple. But then you actually want the side wings as well. And then you see that they are a bit more behind than the main building. And you actually want to show that mural in the hall. And what are offices without people and furniture? And shouldn’t there be any lighting? And that’s how it went on and on.”
“The whole project has gotten a bit out of hand. I’ve been working on it for ten years and the model is still not finished.” Fortunately, there is room in the DAF Museum to expand the model. Rien is a happy man that his model is now reaching a wide audience. “Everyone can see it now. It’s in a beautiful place here.”
