Design Commissions
Designer Sabine Marcelis shaped the new interior of the Research Centre (2021).
Research Centre
With several effective interventions and additions, Sabine Marcelis has transformed Het Nieuwe Instituut's former Study Centre into a more dynamic and social environment. The new interior invites not just study, but also dialogue and exchange. "The atmosphere in the space was quite dark and heavy," says Marcelis. "The most drastic adjustment I proposed was to replace several of the closed façade panels with glass, allowing more light to enter the room." She also established a seating area adjacent to the transparent facade. "It's now like you're sitting outside. Following this idea, I've placed a few benches at the front, which offer a wonderful view over the Museum Park. The Research Centre had to become a pleasant space for work and meetings, both for visitors and employees. A place where you can read a book or discuss things with a colleague."
Marcelis opted to re-use existing elements. "The USM furniture system in the existing interior is so beautiful and timeless," she explains. "I decided to reinterpret it and replace some of the black panels with coloured glass. Three worlds combine in the new design: the former Study Centre, the standard USM elements and my own design world." Marcelis often works with resin casting and glass in a strikingly bright colour palette. Her cast resin seating elements and tables - with names such as Candy Cube, Candy Column and Soap Table - are objects with a delightfully tactile quality. "I like materials that are activated by light and movement," she says. "I always hope my work will move people and evoke a positive emotion."
Another notable revision is the Research Centre's layout. The front desk now has a central placement, giving employees an improved overview of the space. At the entrance, a wall of lockers screens off the study area on the left from the social meeting area on the right. There is a new counter for which Marcelis combined glass building blocks from the existing interior with a cast resin top and bottom plate. The seating areas she arranged in several places include elongated benches by La Cividina, a 1960s design by Pierre Paulin, accompanied by her own cast resin elements as side tables.
"The space was given an injection of light and colour, with a few new materials in mainly soft and warm tones," says Marcelis, summarising her intervention. She also explains that she is rarely asked to make an addition to an existing interior: "It was a nice experience to explore the possibilities within a restrictive framework. Indeed, such restrictions yield unexpectedly interesting results."
The redesign of the Research Centre was made possible thanks to the generous support of Van Waay en Soetekouw.
Sabine Marcelis
Sabine Marcelis graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in 2011 and then settled in Rotterdam. Her work ranges from product design to spatial installations and furnishings and is notable for simple shapes that emphasise its material qualities. In close collaboration with industry specialists, her experimental material research arrives at novel and surprising visual effects. The resulting designs are exhibited in museums and commissioned by commercial clients and fashion houses. Marcelis recently won the Wallpaper Design Awards Designer of the Year 2020, the Design Prize 2019 Newcomer of the Year, the Elle Deco International Design award 2019 Young Designer of the Year, and the GQ Men of The Year Awards 2019 in the International Artist category.