design dakfoyer | Carel Wirtz & Jan Wijsbroek 

Artists: Carel Wirtz and Jan Wijsbroek 
Art work: Roof foyer design 
Collection: de Doelen 
Acquisition: de Doelen percentage scheme  

Rotterdam interior designer Carel Wirtz was a specialist in light effects and mainly focused on the interiors of cinemas and theatres. For the ss Rotterdam he designed the ‘Smoking Room’ of first class on the promenade deck, as well as the ‘Tropic Bar’ and the ‘Card Room’. For the roof foyer of de Doelen, he sought a relationship between light and architecture, with a keen eye for detail. The ceiling here has been given a fascinating, protruding pattern. ‘I consciously work towards a certain atmosphere’, he remarked in an interview. ‘Every detail must contribute to give the audience a sense of celebration’. At the opening of de Doelen, the Algemeen Handelsblad called the design of the foyer particularly successful and spoke of a ‘real Wirtzhaus’, referring to the recognizability of the interior architect's designs.  

The wild, plastered facade was designed by artist Jan Wijsbroek. Many Rotterdammers are familiar with the mosaics that he and Jaap Gidding designed in the 1940s above the bicycle and pedestrian entrances of the Maastunnel. He also made murals for the Pier of Scheveningen (1961), costumes for the Nieuw Rotterdams Toneel and the Nieuwe Komedie (1960-1964) and restored the tapestries in the Rotterdam Raadszaal (1964).