Book Review: Interiors by Marcel Wanders

Regarded by many as an anomaly in the design world, Marcel has made it his mission to “create an environment of love, live with passion and make our most exciting dreams come true.” His work excites, provokes, and polarises, but never fails to surprise for its ingenuity, daring and singular quest to uplift the human spirit, and entertain.

Marcel Wanders’ distinctive output combines a flair for the theatrical with a unique understanding of space that has vaulted him into the top ranks of contemporary design. His interiors projects range from iconic hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami, to fairy-tale private residences in Amsterdam, Mallorca, and Jakarta.

Developed integrally with his product design, Wanders’ spaces incorporate a romantic, monumental sensibility that has redefined interior design.

Marcel Wanders: Interiors features work from four continents including highly acclaimed designs for the Morgans boutique hotel chain (Thor restaurant in the Hotel on Rivington in New York) and the London flagship for Mandarina Duck.

The interiors developed by Marcel Wanders combine the everyday with the extraordinary. These inspirational sources have been harnessed to create an unprecedented interior design volume.

In his designs Marcel often mixes innovative materials and techniques with references to well known historical styles and archetypes, so users can easily connect to the pieces, enjoying them for a long time and in doing so create sustainable surroundings.

Marcel Wanders Biography

Marcel Wanders was born in Boxtel, Netherlands in 1963. He graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (ArtEZ Institute of the Arts) in Arnhem in 1988 after being expelled from Eindhoven Design Academy. In 1995 he opened his studio in the beating heart of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, quickly coming to worldwide attention in 1996 for his iconic Knotted Chair, which paired high tech materials with ‘low tech’ production methods.

Today Marcel’s powerhouse studio numbers around 50 international design specialists, and he is a prolific product and interior designer and art director, ubiquitous with over 1700+ projects to his name for private clients and premium brands such as Alessi, Bisazza, KLM, Flos, Swarovski, Puma, among scores of others.

In 2001 Marcel co-founded the successful design label Moooi, of which he is also Art Director. Conceived as a platform for design talent from around the world, today the company works with around 30 designers, has a presence in 79 countries and is renowned for its quirky, eccentric but altogether inspired take on the objects that surround us.

With this track record, it’s no surprise that the New York Times dubbed Marcel the “Lady Gaga of Design,” or that Business Week selected him as one of Europe’s ’25 leaders of change.’ In 2006, Elle Decoration awarded Marcel the prestigious title of ‘Designer of the Year.’ Other award wins include the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s modern design collaborative award, Collab, and the Design Excellence Award for Marcel’s significant contribution to the field of design in 2009.

See also: Books Review: Art & Makeup