Since May 2021, Hamburg’s Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe MK&G has had new work and conference rooms. The eclectic interior design concept was created by Studio Besau Marguerre. In our interview, the two designers Eva Marguerre and Marcel Besau talk about how an MK&G attic find became the central impulse.
Baumeister : How did the commission for the project come about?
EVA MARGUERRE : Tulga Beyerle, who took over as director of the MK&G in 2018, knew our work and therefore approached us. After an initial meeting, we actually went straight into the commission for the workspaces relatively quickly.
Home game with honor
B : How are the workspaces used?
E M : It’s a mixed office space. On the one hand, employees from the marketing and social media departments work there. There is also a large meeting room for the entire MK&G. It’s a very prestigious room that didn’t exist in the past. Previously, stools were put together for meetings in the library. Of course, a conference room like this also has an important representative role to play, as it brings together many people who are important to the museum, not least patrons and politicians. That’s why it was also important that the room really stands for the museum, tells a story and has an attitude. That was a huge advantage for us because we could be very expressive.
MARCEL BESAU : The large room also has a second function: employees can hold workshops there and withdraw for work meetings. There’s a central meeting table and an open area next to it that can be used as a space for working groups.
B : As a designer, what is special about working for a museum that is itself very much concerned with design?
M B : Of course we were very pleased that Tulga Beyerle approached us for this commission. As a Hamburg studio, working for such an important Hamburg institution is a great honor. It’s a bit like a home game for us. We know our way around the industry and it quickly became clear to us that we wanted to take a conceptual approach, combining different manufacturers, products and elements as well as traditional or classic furniture with contemporary pieces. In this way, we wanted to illustrate the vibrancy that characterizes design and design history. The museum, the MKG Hamburg in general and this room in particular should be places of encounter – and that is exactly what our design aims to represent.
No overlaying at MKG Hamburg
B : How did you find objects with which you could implement your concept?
E M : It was important to us that we didn’t simply impose something on the building – there is already a lot of history in the MK&G. That’s why we looked around the building to see if there were any pieces that could perhaps be recycled or used. We were also allowed to go into the attic of the MK&G, where countless pieces of old furniture are stored – that was really exciting.
We not only found furnishings for our project there, but also old records from a Memphis exhibition. They were perfectly stored there and had simply been forgotten about over the years: wonderful material, really great wood and completely printed with these characteristic Memphis patterns. We basically derived our entire idea from this find. And, of course, we were able to work in a totally sustainable way. We designed a huge table for the meeting room and had a joinery build it from several of the panels. The table is the center around which we then arranged rather calm furniture in natural and light shades of white. Every chair is different, no two models are the same.
Dialogs with subject and object
B : How do you want museum staff and guests to experience your space?
E M : In the large meeting room, we tell design history with old and contemporary classics, but also with brand new designs from young labels. Anyone looking for a seat at the table is directly sensitized to the theme that defines the museum. This creates a direct dialog, a communication: which chair do I want to sit on? You probably sit on a different chair at every meeting. And how you sit on a chair also changes your perception.
M B : That makes design directly tangible and comparable. Of course, this is a completely different didactic approach to the presentation of such chairs in the museum’s exhibition rooms.
E M : You enter into a direct dialog with the objects and perhaps ask yourself: “Who made this chair?” Or you realize: “That’s really comfortable.” There’s just something very lively about it.
Eclectics at MKG Hamburg
B : Compared to your other works, the variety of forms is enormous. Why did you opt for a different approach here than, for example, in your design for the Elbphilharmonie?
E M : We deliberately wanted to incorporate the location. Based on the Memphis theme, which the record find unexpectedly brought us to, we then came up with the term eclecticism. We didn’t want to simply design a Memphis interior, which could have been done. Instead, we tried to pick up on the theme but consciously bring it into the present day: We combined it in a very straightforward way, with very geometric, calm, clear lines and said: Memphis is a part of history, but each of these chairs represents a different design direction, a different style. That’s why the term eclectic was a good fit for us – also because it suits the spirit of this museum. The MKG Hamburg is also extremely open and versatile when it comes to its exhibition themes.
Spirit of the house
B : Did you already have a special connection to the Memphis movement before this project?
E M : No, not at all. We would never have come up with the idea of designing the interior based on the Memphis theme if there hadn’t actually been these Memphis records in the attic. But that’s also the beauty of our work.
We always try to respond very individually to our clients and the location. Nevertheless, people say they recognize our signature. One example is the Elbphilharmonie. Everything here is completely desaturated in terms of color, very delicate. For us, this simply suited the building and the theme of music. In the MKG Hamburg, it was a piece of history that was stored in this attic. We don’t have a preconceived idea in our heads. We meet with the clients, spend time together, listen carefully, feel the rooms and look: “What is the spirit of the building, of the rooms, and how can we convey it?”
B : Do you still have certain principles that you always follow in your designs?
E M : A certain balance is always important. In the MK&G, for example, we made sure that you don’t walk into the meeting room and be completely overwhelmed by the impressions. That’s why we deliberately brought calm elements such as the curtain into the room. Or the yellow lights above the table, which are playful but still very straightforward. And in addition to the bright colors, we also used a lot of natural tones and gray. It’s a cozy atmosphere and not overloaded with Memphis power.
Gonzales Haase AAS, the architecture firm of Pierre Jorge Gonzalez and Judith Haase, also designed two offices. You can see the result here.
