On the 22nd of last month, a visit to "Strijp-S," the former Philips production and research complex in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, revealed residents lying on the grass between gray concrete buildings, enjoying the sunshine. In the skate park nearby, young people practiced tricks, riding boards and jumping over railings. On the ground floor of a factory, residents and office workers mingled in cafes and restaurants, while upstairs by the windows, developers and designers held meetings with laptops open.
Familiar to Koreans as the home of PSV Eindhoven, where Park Ji-sung once played, this city was once a "company town" sustained by Philips. Philips built factories and research centers in the city center, providing not only jobs but also housing, schools, and hospitals. But after production facilities closed and Philips left, the vast factory district remained a symbol of decline.
Today, some 1,000 companies occupy Strijp-S. Startups and scale-ups alone number about 250. At Sint Lucas, a creative and technical school within the complex, students were carrying out design and technology projects with officials from nearby companies. Behind the plaza sits public rental housing for young workers and young couples.
The Philips factory, where production lines have stopped, has now become a space where residents rest, students learn, and companies create new technologies and businesses. The industrial city that once depended on a single company is building a new urban industrial ecosystem where diverse companies and talent grow together.
