In an ode to his practice, noted Dutch designer Marcel Wanders ‘modestly’ declares: “Sometimes, when I think of design and interiors, and I trash the ignorant, the unthoughtful, the lazy and the tired use of white walls and under-inspired minimalism, I hallucinate and dream of a world, a design, a philosophy that truly builds on love, that builds on creativity, that builds on fantasy, and when I fail to explain my plan and try to express the urgency of my vision, I will proclaim vigorously that every square centimeter deserves our love, that every square centimeter deserves our thought, that every square centimeter should be kissed and deserves our attention, that large and little, pink and yellow, empty and full are sisters, that cannot live without each other’s love, that divine is in the creation of new unseen, unexperienced, remarkable and inspiring relationships.”
This thinking is perhaps best evidence in his recently outfitted brand-new Kimpton BEM hotel in Budapest, Hungary’s historically-entrenched capital. The 127-room boutique hotel occupies the decidedly grand and emphatically Neoclassical Radetsky Barracks building in the quieter Buda side of the city; on a perch overlooking the mighty Danube River that traverses the metropolis.
The Amsterdam-based polymath – perhaps most famous for establishing eclectic furniture brand Moooi and driving the influential early 2000s Dutch Design scene – imbued the stately address with a scheme that’s equal parts fantastical and site-responsive, both in terms of cultural and environmental cues.
References and symbols from Hungarian folklore abound in explicit representations and abstracted articulations throughout, especially in the hotel’s three idiosyncratically staged hospitality venues: the main lobby, AGOS restaurant, and Bar Huso. To say Wanders’s intervention was comprehensive would be an understatement. For this project the talent delved deep into research and pulled out elements he deemed the most compelling.
The revered maverick and his team introduced a grid-pattern coffered wall motif throughout these slightly vaulted, double height-spaces. Beveled corners and concave reliefs serve as a slightly neotenic and playful backdrop. Everything else is far more maximalist and expressive, especially when it comes to decorative patterning and coloring, Decipherable and somewhat skewed depictions of mythological creatures and native flora such as poppies and tulips are found throughout and to vibrant effect.
As with any of Wanders’ endeavors over the past 30 years, experiential storytelling and the human touch are essential components. These considerations are manifested in everything from custom furnishings to high-quality finishes and the unlikely application of certain materials. Regardless, he still aims for a level of efficiency; ensuring his outfits can easily be refurbished and don’t produce too much waste.
While Essential collection guest rooms are covered in almost trompe-l’oeil carpet to wall murals of magnified flowers and adjoining bathrooms are fully clad in tone-matched glazed green tile, the Premium Danube Room carries a similar scheme but in water blue; the enlarged representation of crashing waves. Though Dutch Design can sometimes be thought of as kitschy or gimmicky, those qualities are always backed by some degree of ironic irreverence or innovative conceptual ideation.
Bar Huso takes on a similar all-encompassing under-the-sea or in this case, under-the-river aesthetic with dramatic fern-topped illuminated columns and port-hole-like compositions of creatures with exaggerated features. Huso Huso is the beluga sturgeon that reappears in numerous fables and legends. An oversized golden stag statue – no, not the somewhat controversial Moooi Horse Lamp – takes pride within a stained-glass atrium. The AGOS restaurant is watched over by a mural of the ever-resilient Turul bird and is bisected by larger collage-like and totemic columns.
What: Kimpton BEM Budapest
Where: Budapest, Hungary
How much: Guest rooms starting from $197
Design draw: A Neoclassical building on the quieter Buda side of Budapest entirely transformed into a swanky 127-room hotel by the bad boy of Dutch design Marcel Wanders, who translated local folklore and flora in maximalist details.
Book it: Kimpton BEW Budapest
Go virtually on vacation with more design destinations right here.
Photography provided by Kimpton BEM Budapest.
