HOTEL REVIEW
in conjunction with the Tilburg
Textielmuseum. Experimentation with different threads and designs was undertaken in accordance with fireproofing and cleaning standards prior to production. Additionally many fabrics from the archives of Kvadrat in Denmark were used. Then the rooms were dressed.
“The students generally found it difficult to understand the ‘inside out’ approach,” explains Oxenaar of the requirement to imagine the guestroom volume as being like a fashion model. Student Roos Soetekouw, responsible for nine of the room designs, explains: “Designing is easy but putting it into a room is difficult. Like a dress it doesn’t always fit the first time and needs alterations.” Completing such fine-tuning at a sewing machine in spare mezzanine area of the hotel, Soetekouw explains that the hardest parts are the windows and corners as the sharp edges have to be “moulded away”. Guestroom designs are so varied that to
categorise them is almost impossible. Suffice to say inspiration comes from the city skyline, Rembrandt-style collars, folded material, foam rubber mattresses, a crinoline cage and Marie- Antoinette-style corset, the oversize jumper
twinned with pencil skirts look of the 1980’s, mannequins upholstered in hessian....... Additional to this miscellany of design is the crafted, hand-made approach. Mostly delicate, no wonder the hotel has an onsite handyman for ongoing maintenance. The small three-piece (shower-only)
bathrooms are standard in all rooms with black floor tiles, logoed cream wall tiles from Mosa, and Grohe brassware. The realisation of the student’s work and
the ‘dressing’ of the hotel’s public spaces were coordinated by design studio Ina Matt. As was the graphic design that includes frequent use of the triple X’s of the city’s coat of arms (in the reception, lift interiors and staff uniforms) and room numbers crudely stitched on material held taut within embroidery hoops. The carpet runners, made from recycled yarns to Ina Matt’s design by Brink and Campman, look like long stripy socks. The hotel’s obvious attraction to repeat guests looking for new guestroom experiences will continue indefinitely with the specifically commissioned hessian-lined rooms from Ina Matt designed to allow for re-dressing by new students as part of an ongoing project.
052 JULY / AUGUST 2012
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM EXPRESS CHECKOUT
Hotel The Exchange Damrak 50, 1012LL Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel: +31 20 561 3699
www.exchangeamsterdam.com
„ 61 guestrooms ‰ Stock restaurant + OPTIONS! Retail Store
Owner: Stadsgoed NV Operator: Otto Nan & Suzanne Oxenaar Architect: Onswerk Interior Design: Ina Matt / students from AMFI Main contractor: Van Zijtveld (electricity & water), KP (interior construction)
ABOVE LEFT: ‘Unaware Reality’ by Iris Kloppenburg ABOVE RIGHT: Roos Soetekouw’s Eighties Room OPPOSITE PAGE: Anne Wolters’ History Repeated room features grainy black and white photos of an old hotel room as wallcoverings
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