Schiphol VIP Centre: Dutch Design Across the 2020 Interiors

The 2020 Dutch Heritage room brings seating and meeting functions into a single composed interior. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Marcel Wanders studio’s 2020 work at the VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol approached an airport lounge as a sequence of rooms with different purposes. Arrival, private meetings, reading and rest each received a distinct setting. Dutch art and design supplied the connecting thread, allowing the interior to move between historic references and contemporary objects without requiring every room to look alike.

The scope of the intervention matters. The studio’s release explains that the new concept focused on selected areas and worked alongside spaces previously designed by Concrete Architects in 2010. Those existing areas also received updates. The 2020 project therefore combined new rooms with an existing architectural framework.

Arrival through art and history

The original concept used Dutch painting and graphic imagery to give arrival a recognisable character. The studio described an open lounge with digital artworks shown within carved wooden frames, allowing the displayed content to change. This approach connected the visual reference of a gallery with the practical flexibility of a contemporary hospitality space.

Historic imagery gives the arrival area a connection to the project’s wider Dutch cultural theme. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

In the photographed entrance, an enlarged map forms the backdrop to a small seating group. The wall image establishes a broad historical register, while chairs, lighting and tables bring the scale back to the individual visitor. It is a useful introduction to the larger project: cultural references are made part of the room’s composition, and the furniture creates a clear place to pause within them.

Rooms for conversation and concentration

The 2020 design included a multifunctional press and conference room equipped for work. Its original specification described features such as wireless phone charging, a wall touchscreen and integrated sound. In the interior itself, meeting furniture sits alongside expressive lounge chairs and a large floral carpet. Practical equipment and decorative detail were conceived within the same setting.

The multifunctional press room combines a practical meeting setting with expressive furniture and pattern. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The Dutch Heritage and Portrait Gallery rooms developed themes associated with historical figures, collecting and commissioned objects. Elsewhere, the Dutch Contemporary room brought contemporary furniture and art into a more traditional spatial framework. Across these settings, the design used different combinations of imagery, objects and surfaces to establish identifiable rooms within the larger centre.

Deep blue shelving and contained lighting establish a quieter setting in the library. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The private library offers a more concentrated example. Blue shelving gives the room a strong perimeter, while a low table and a small group of seats establish its centre. The darker palette contains the view and directs attention towards the immediate setting. Its role in the original scheme was to support reading and personal reflection between journeys.

Delft blue and quieter interiors

The Delft Blue Salon focused on the blue-and-white ceramic tradition named in the studio’s release. In the supplied photograph, pale furniture sits within a light architectural frame, with floral blue details defining the background. The reference is carried by a small group of colours and motifs, allowing the room to remain clear even when seen from a distance.

The Delft Blue Salon translates a familiar ceramic palette into an interior composition. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The original smoking room took a different material direction. Dark walls, leather seating and vintage furniture references created a compact, enclosed atmosphere. The release connected the room to Dutch trade and exploration; the photograph records how that theme was expressed through the objects and finishes of the 2020 interior.

The original smoking room used a darker palette and vintage references. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The Oasis of Silence was designed around rest. Soft materials and a more secluded arrangement offered a change from the meeting and arrival spaces. A dark patterned wall and a softly lit white object give the photographed room a restrained focal point, demonstrating how the overall cultural theme could be adjusted to a much quieter function.

The Oasis of Silence used softer materials and an enclosed setting for rest. VIP centre, Interior Design by Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (2020). Images courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Interior design: Marcel Wanders studio, VIP centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 2020. The intervention worked with and updated selected existing areas originally designed by Concrete Architects in 2010. The images shown belong to the documented 2020 series.

Sources: Official project documentation; Project release 1.