Truck Pressings and Steel Offcuts Build a Life-Size Metal House

The walls of The Metal House are a patchwork of steel pressings that were once meant for trucks. Jewellery label Tweek Eek built the life-size house with Dutch manufacturer VDL Groep, using only metal left over from VDL’s production lines.

The house is made entirely of metal: walls, furniture, lighting, tableware and objects. It was first shown during Paris Fashion Week and was on view in Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week, from 17 to 25 October 2026. VDL is a family-owned manufacturer based in the Eindhoven region. Tweek Eek was founded in 2019 by the sisters Roos and Geertje Eek.

_{The Metal House / Photo courtesy of Tweek Eek}

Press Marks Left in Plain Sight

The materials are sheets, pressings, tubes and components that once formed parts of trucks and production lines. Nothing was polished away. Scratches, press marks and industrial textures stay visible, so every panel shows where it came from. Recessed door shapes and ribbed stampings sit side by side in grey steel, held by a dark steel frame overhead.

The making was documented at VDL and in Tweek Eek’s own workshop. The label already used industrial machines for its jewellery. With this project it takes that approach to the scale of architecture. A new jewellery line comes from pressed and reshaped industrial tubes, with more pieces for men.

_{Chair in The Metal House / Photo courtesy of Tweek Eek}

Five Designers, Five Ways With Leftovers

Five invited designers each worked with VDL’s surplus. Studio RENS uses offcuts of perforated stainless steel as frames for glass and mirror. The original sheet sizes set the shape of each piece. Sarah Roseman developed a metal weaving technique based on a broken conveyor belt. Burning and plating by hand bring out colours hidden in the steel, for a tapestry and a pendant lamp.

Jim Bob Ruijgrok grinds and cuts formed vehicle parts into chairs, following the shape each part already had. Teun Zwets turned machined aluminium, brass and copper parts, pallet wood and an old grease tin from VDL’s basement into lamps. Choi Baekgi builds plant-like sculptures from wire, stainless steel and silicone.

From Catwalk to Design Week

During the design week, the house at Halvemaanstraat 30 in Eindhoven was open to everyone. Other makers at Dutch Design Week 2026 also worked with local resources and new building methods. The jewellery made from VDL’s tubes is now part of Tweek Eek’s collection.

Source & image: Tweek Eek / FashionUnited