DZAP was asked to design the interior of the new Benelux headquarters of the Q8 oil company in The Hague. The design concept focused on combining elements of Middle Eastern cultures with the Dutch polder. The entire central core of the building is ‘wrapped’ in wall hangings, which have both aesthetic and acoustic value.
At Q8’s invitation, interior architect Jeffrey van der Wees visited Kuwait. After two days of touring major sites and visiting various buildings, he came up with the idea of wall hangings as a defining element and integral part of the interior. Colourful, hand-knotted wall hangings are widely used as an interior feature in Kuwait. The design features Kuwait City’s principal landmarks as well as a dhow, a traditional Arabian sailing boat. The horizontal stripe that runs across all the panels symbolises the horizon, which in both Kuwait and the Netherlands is extremely flat.
Where a landmark is shown, the horizon indicates land; where a boat is depicted, it represents water. Van der Wees also converted the images into a grid of coarse dots, creating pointillist images. The combination of dots and yarns creates an exciting but subtle relief. Walk past the wall hangings, and the images appear to change as a result of the play of light on the metallic-like yarns used.
DZAP (formerly D+Z Architecten + Projectmanagers) brings together architects and project managers to initiate, manage and deliver complete projects. The agency specialises in office buildings and interiors, catering establishments and the upper housing segment.
