Bathing Bikou Room at Volkshotel Amsterdam by Hanna Maring.

Dutch designer Hanna Maring was commissioned to refurbish one of the hotel rooms at Volkshotel Amsterdam titled Bathing Bikou Room. In order to create a feeling of zen, Maring added a Japanese wooden bathtub and semi-transparent screens designed to resemble the sky at different times of day. Although most rooms within the hotel offer vast views of the city, the space given to Maring had only a relatively small window. To overcome this challenge, the designer based the concept around creating her own views.

For her timber-framed screens, Maring printed a colourful gradient onto a semi-transparent textile, using a halftone process known as FM screening. At close range the dot pattern is clearly visible, while from afar the effect becomes one of a seamless gradient.

The bath in the centre of the room is a traditional Japanese Ofuro made from cedar. All furniture and interior elements throughout the rest of the room are constructed from plywood. “The overall design of the hotel is informed by simple materials and detailing, to which unique and crafted finishes were applied to preserve the history of the building,” says Maring.

[Photography by Igrien Liu.]