We needed to wrap our head around the field of ‘interior’. Which for us means treating the building, material, colours and the surround- ings as living breathing entities entangled through time, rooted in the past and connected to the future. We wanted to create spaces that are layered, by embracing and incorporating the heritage of the area and the land that it is situated on. To not just create a destination, but spaces through which you could travel, explore, be surprised, but also reflect and rest. This can be done best if the interiors are an ex- pression of the place’s soul.

Durgerdam as a starting point is a true gift. It is water and sky. The forever-changing skies are reflected in the water, but when the wind plays with it, the water reveals its true colours. Minerals and algae give it a brownish-green hue, which became the base color for the hotel and restaurant.

The restaurant’s walls are plastered with pigments in a mix of brown- ish-green watercolour and sky blue, allowing the walls to dissolve into the horizon. The watercolour creates an embracing hue, while glimpses of sky blue evoke a sense of optimism and infinite space.

The Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen served as a huge inspiration for the project. In the 1980s, they relocated several houses from around the Zuiderzee into the museum’s ‘buitenmuseum.’ Each small town had its own typical use of color, which was more vibrant and bold than one might expect. This could possibly be attributed to the mar- itime trade that thrived through the Zuiderzee in previous centuries. Blue was the color chosen for kitchens and bedsteads, as it was be- lieved to repel insects. Another remarkable quality of this specific shade of blue is its seemingly infinite appearance, which creates a sense of spaciousness in small rooms. This blue color is used on the interior of the hotel room wardrobes, forming a striking contrast to the high-gloss exterior finish. The reflection on the wardrobes draws in the light and the surrounding environment.

The fisherman’s tears lamp by Ingo Maurer found its space above the communal table, providing a direct view of the lake. It is a nod to the fishermen who lost the Zuiderzee with the construction of the enor- mous afsluitdijk in 1932.

To optimize the interplay of light on the colours, the orientation of the rooms determined the color palette. South-facing rooms feature warmer tones, east-facing rooms medium tones, and north-facing rooms slightly cooler hues.

As a contrast to the muddy walls, we chose deep Zuiderzee-coloured tiles from Makkum Tichelaar, a tile maker located on the opposite side of the Zuiderzee since 1572. Together, we developed these spe- cial colours with a very high gloss glaze.

Water ripples into the building, and finds it’s expression in custom designed pieces like the bedroom headboards, made with tulipwood veneer with a moire effect and banquette seating that undulates along the walls of the restaurant. We also worked with Jantien Roozenburg who sourced vintage furniture and styling pieces from all over the Netherlands to enrich the spaces and make each room feel unique. One remarkable find worth mentioning is a collection of dried algae from the Zuiderzee. These unique pieces were framed and are now spread throughout the rooms.

The books in the reading room all relate to the place somehow; books about water, the eel that isn’t served by the restaurant, the nautical heritage, but next to it, books about slavery and white supremacy. There are also musings and reflections on interrelational topics, as well as books about sleeping and dreaming...

The bed throws were specially developed for the hotel rooms. They add a level of visual seduction, luring you into the room, and onto the bed evoking a sense of touch and wonder.

The heart of the building, the old staircase we left untouched. The in- grained forms and layers of paints allows us to feel the time through which the building has stood. It’s the most naked part of the building. A comment we often get from people after a visit to DeDurgerdam hotel is that it is ‘as if it has always been there’. For us this is the best compliment we can get.