In 2010, the interior architect Evelyne Merkx and her Merkx+Girod architecture and interior design firm designed the interior of the White Palace, the seat of the Council of State in The Hague. A large part of the project included textile wall panels, which were developed in collaboration with Ina Meijer from Studio INAMATT and the TextielLab.
The Amsterdam-based Merkx+Girod architecture and interior design bureau called on the textile designer Ina Meijer to develop textile wall coverings for the historical enfilade, an elegant suite of rooms in the White Palace, the seat of the Council of State. The assignment was part of the project to renovate, restore and extend this complex of buildings in The Hague. The most notable rooms overlook the palace’s French formal garden and had textile wall coverings.
Merkx carried out research into materials and produced a colour scheme for the whole project. She began by working with existing linens that she dyed in the shades of her colour scheme. It was Meijer who initiated the collaboration with the TextielLab. Several wonderful fabrics were developed in half-linen with a beautiful lustre and a variety of chic patterns. The yarns for the carpets were dyed in the same colours. The carpets run through a succession of rooms that are visible to one another, with the colour providing the connecting element. For example, the carpet from one room is the colour of the wall in the next.
Meijer developed the fabrics commissioned by Merkx+Girod. Weaving the linen tightly and introducing lurex details resulted in a rich but restrained textile with a shimmer. The colours used, an ‘aged’ palette, conjures up associations with ‘wornness’ but achieves an overall visual effect that is crystal clear. Meijer and the TextielLab’s technical experts worked together intensively to satisfy the project’s exacting technical and qualitative requirements.
Merkx’s design studio Merk X (previously Merkx+Girod) has built a 30-year reputation with architecture, interior architecture, textile and furniture design. Merkx’s clients include the Hermitage Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Concertgebouw.
Studio INAMATT was founded by Ina Meijer and Matthijs van Cruijsen in 2001. The studio specialises in spatial design and architecture, combining a highly artistic and investigative approach with precise technical skills. Activities range from the restructuring of residential and retail spaces to defining the perfect colour and texture palette for monumental landmarks or the shaping of playful visual identities.
