Hotel Wonderland
Hotel Wonderland is a place to go to for an evening of surreal adventure, situated in a historical building in the harbor of Amsterdam.
Early in the process, we were asked to get on board and take care of the design and building of the arrival hall: an over 400 square meter jazz bar.
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year: end of 2021
client: Hotel Wonderland Amsterdam
aim: concept design and production of jazzbar interior (420m2). Style elements in Art Deco style. Optimized for budget.
demands: 120 seats, 300 standing places. The jazzbar space is separable. Podium for jazz band, two bars with a cocktail part.
design values: welcoming and warm, familiar but surreal.
partner: project when working at Bende Rotterdam -
design of interior concept, design of interior elements, touchpoints, spatial design and floor layout, floor painting, walls, production of all the elements mentioned
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a floor painting, with the function to glue the spatial elements together and create a perspective shifting finish of the
whole jazzbar
podium for jazz band
two bars with a cocktail part.
Situated in a historical building in the harbor of Amsterdam, Hotel Wonderland is a place to go to for an evening of surreal adventure. The story of the Hotel Wonderland ‘world’, where the main part of the evening is spent, is that it is an ‘in-between’ world where a group of 12 characters (played by actors) live. The storyline of this world will be affected by the visitors of that specific evening and how they interact with these characters. The world has an Alice in Wonderland kind of ambience: an impressive place with surreal lighting, filled with interactive installations, mystery and hidden places created by other artists.
We were asked to design the jazz bar where visitors would reside before entering an unknown world. The design challenge is tackled from an experience perspective, whereas the function of the jazz bar is ‘to warm up for a surreal experience of a mysterious Hotel Wonderland world’.
The jazz bar is ‘a warm up for a surreal experience of a mysterious Hotel Wonderland world’.
After analyzing the spacious demands, zones with various functions were designed. Upon entering, visitors would feel welcomed by the space and inspired to get a drink and a suitable seat. The zones offer various types of seating with a private or more public character.
We worked on this as a team, where my part was to do the conceptual design, art direction and assist in production.
Designing the interior elements was all about balancing budget, integrating a modest Art Deco feel and while maintaining a luxurious and unique feel. After detail design we started making the elements, both by hand and with CNC milling.
Together with befriended painter Hans Schuttenbeld, we worked out a design for a floor painting, with the function to glue the spatial elements together and create a perspective shifting finish of the whole jazzbar.
Unfortunately Hotel Wonderland ran out of business early 2022 because of Covid restrictions and cannot be visited anymore.
