Magritte, Mövenpick Brussels Airport, Brussels – Belgium

Mövenpick Brussels Airport, the very first in Belgium, is a new flagship destination for Accor and is located a short drive from the city’s Zaventem Airport. The building, designed by architect David Vancanneyt, has 103 rooms, as well as a set of wellness facilities and a rooftop restaurant, Magritte.
WeWantMore was commissioned to design the hotel’s rooms and public spaces (lobby / lobbybar / Restaurant and Welness), taking cues from the striking and surrealist concrete ‘curtains’ that feature on the building’s exterior.
A sense of purposeful whimsy characterises the hotel’s interior, which taps into Belgium’s long and storied tradition of surrealist art. Spaces are designed to surprise guests with thought-provoking elements and unusual details, building an experience that’s equal parts theatrical and dreamlike. Indoing so, connecting with the Mövenpick brand philosophy of ‘Doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way’.
This sense of airiness and levitation is encountered throughout the hotel, with furniture and joinery constructed so it appears to be floating above the ground and emphasised by the use of rounded edges and curves, which create a softness and gentle flow.
There’s also a distinct sense of playfulness in the communal areas and restaurant, with objects designed to subvert expectations. Shelves are supported by books, spheres and vases, and foot rails and lighting features are held up by ‘hands’. In the bar area, a counter lifts its stone skirt to reveal polished metal beneath, while a solid block of granite hovers, apparently precariously, above.
Mirrors add to the dream-like experience, warping the perspective or appearing to be frozen in the act of melting. Even when they tuck themselves in for the night, guests can expect the unexpected with cane-shaped wall lights, and an over-the-bed lamp that casts a bird-shaped shadow – referring to both René Magritte’s bird motif and Mövenpick’s logo.
The interior of the restaurant evokes a real sense of warmth and relaxation through the use of wood, copper, bronze, light camel leather and soft plaster. The booths in the back offer something out of the ordinary, made using 3D-printed panels that could have been scooped from a pot of stracciatella ice cream (a reference to Mövenpick’s own ice cream line). In the hotel restaurant, Magritte, a copper veil seems to float through the space, as if carried away by a gentle wind – emphasising the area, its elevated position and the views out into the sky beyond.