The Marcel Wanders Studio | Marcel Wanders

Where We Work: the Interior of the Marcel Wanders Studio

At the centre of Amsterdam’s famed Jordaan district stands the Westerhuis, a historic building that has become a cultural platform for the creative industry, housing a variety of companies in anywhere from design to public relations. The studio of Marcel Wanders can be found on the 3rd floor of the building, a creative hub where 50 passionate designers collaborate on beautiful and innovative products and interiors.

Separated by a corridor, the studio is divided like a left and right brain, with one side embodying the logical organization and the other creative chaos. In the latter space, there are no walls, the open space abolishing hierarchy and cultivating a collaborative team. Everyone assembles together at the Lunch Room, with lunch time announced by a classic school bell, as well as ringing in anniversaries, goodbye parties, baby showers, and other shared celebrations. The studio further has its own workshop, allowing for hands-on experimentation and testing of products and new ideas. A new gallery space on the 3rd floor hosts interchanging exhibitions with the Personal Editions collection for a selected audience.

On the 4th floor is the Salon @ Marcel Wanders with three breathtaking spaces: the DIVA Room, the VIP Room, and the One Minute Room. Panoramic views and a sophisticated signature style provide the perfect setting to establish connections, gain insight, and dream together. Along these spaces you will find more Personal Editions: a collection of limited, exclusive pieces exhibiting the combination of traditional crafts and industrial processes and heightening the surrounding poetry and fantasy.

The studio is a hive of activity, filled with products and prototypes, a place that provides inspiration, where people live and breathe the philosophy of Marcel Wanders. By way of its lovingly designed spaces and lively with its beautiful eclectic team of people, it is exactly the right place to “create an environment of love, live with passion, and make our most exciting dreams come true.”

Diva Room

The largest room on the 4th floor, the DIVA Room is a brilliant setting for captivating workshops and team meetings unfolding across a long table with chairs as well as in a relaxing area enriched by the iconic Diva Sofa. Developed as a sectional system to be adapted in all kinds of configurations and upholstery, it is presented here in an alluring red for warm gatherings. Providing a welcoming umbrella to bring people together into the space is the oversized and festive Bell Lamp above the sofa, a fundamental icon of Marcel Wanders that can also be found in other of his interiors as the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht and the Kameha Grand Zurich. This Personal Editions piece lends grandeur and celebration to any occasion.

VIP Room

The setup of the VIP Room, with its spacious table and standing spaces, makes this room a magnificent place to hold moving presentations, share ideas and stir exciting imagination.

The VIP Chairs for Moooi, which lend the name to the space and line the table, are upholstered with woollen, felt-like textile, and have hidden wheels so they move smoothly as though they are floating above the ground. Along the windows are standing tables, partly Container New Antiques for Moooi, customized with a plastic base and marble table top to give it a new sophisticated feeling. Here notable works from the Personal Editions collection are the Topiaries, handmade by securing cotton crochet with epoxy resin. They exemplify Marcel Wanders’ pioneering design by combining time-honoured craftsmanship with modern materials.

One Minute Room

In this wonderfully intimate space, there are a number of striking works that adorn this room.

Around the space can be found One Minute Delft Blue Plates and other pieces, hand painted in the One Minute style, a method to create works within a pre-determined time as serialized objects that are nonetheless all unique. In the centre of the space hangs aDelft Blue Chandelier from the Personal Editions collection, a special design decorated with the Marcel Wanders golden Nosé and hand painted with a blending of the One Minute style and traditional Delft Blue tone.

In this room a One Minute Shade can also be found. Gracing a one-of-a-kind One Minute Sculpture, each lamp is always different. The seating around the table consists of Babel Chairs, merging old and new through lightness and legs inspired by centuries-old wood turning technique.