BAAL Design in Rotterdam: Art as an integral part of design

Rotterdam is increasingly positioning itself as the new European capital of culture, art and design. At the invitation of the Belgian association Collectible, of which we are proud members, the BAAL Design studio team visited Rotterdam during the week of contemporary art and design – Rotterdam Art Week.

The program of the event was very dynamic – at the beginning we were welcomed by Sabine Marcelis, currently one of the most influential designers of today, who this year again found herself on the Architectural Digest AD100 list. Her work balances between the artistic and the functional, and she also gained global recognition through a collection in collaboration with IKEA, which sold out in record time. We are especially pleased that several of her pieces are in our current projects.

That day we also had the opportunity to talk to Laurids Gallee, an Austrian designer with an address in Rotterdam, whose work impressed us two years ago at the Collectible fair in Brussels. His bench remains one of the most striking pieces in the field of contemporary design that rethinks material and form in a new way.

This year, Art Rotterdam was held in a former industrial complex under UNESCO protection, which is divided into two segments – a gallery and a part with art installations, modeled after Art Basel. The day ended with a visit to exhibitions within the local art hub, with a tour with the chief curator of the Paris Pompidou Center.

The second day was reserved for exploring the local design scene – we visited a studio and a vintage furniture store located in a former church, which still has a working organ. Special attention was attracted by an exhibition in an old cotton warehouse from the 19th century, from where cotton from Egypt was once distributed around the world.

Rotterdam won us over with its unpretentious atmosphere, raw energy and strong identity. Unlike the already discovered Amsterdam, it radiates authenticity, does not have huge tourist visits, and is one of the most inspiring places we had the opportunity to visit this year.