"We wanted to create a lounge with more experience and emotion, to create a warm, luxurious atmosphere with a wow effect. So that the whole thing would also be more contemporary. I sat down with Michel from Inspirium and the result was this. It works great to have so many quality companies under one roof. " According to Frans, apart from himself, AZ's business relations are also enthusiastic: "It is catching on with our business relations, we get a lot of positive reactions."

Intimate atmosphere in large room

Through Inspirium, Frans ended up with Rinse Blase for the overall design. "Rinse listened carefully and then created a mood board. From then on, everything ran like a funnel. We went to Inspirium for the furniture, the lighting, the automation, the mobile planters with artificial plants and even the corporate clothing. The different parties reinforced each other." A challenge in the design was the size of the space. "We wanted an intimate atmosphere despite the height and size. Thanks to dividing the space into two parts, a stage that provided height difference, the benches in round arrangements, mobile room dividers and lighting that breaks up the height, we succeeded well."

View of the field

In the process, Frans naturally also influenced the concept himself. Through his experience in the stadium, he was able to indicate well what would work well and what would not. "Because the space is in a stadium, I did look at the design from that point of view. We needed wider walkways, for instance, because many people walk to the skyboxes from the lounge. We also needed a bit more seating for larger groups and fewer tweens. In addition, it is nice to have both low tables and high tables with stools. There is a need for that among the sponsors." From those tables, there is an excellent view of the pitch. Of course, a business lounge like this also suits a different menu. Frans: "We have a more luxurious range of dishes, more luxurious wines and beers at the bar and we have a separate coffee corner."

Challenging to reach a high level

Frans thinks the bar is a real eyecatcher and he also likes the bar tables and lighting. "We didn't want big square blocks as lighting. This combination of spotlights and pendant lights breaks the height, but still keeps it spacious and creates atmosphere." He can also appreciate the thinking along to the details of working with Inspirium. "The brown sofas in the lounge are reminiscent of luxury B&W car seats. It was Michel's idea to also give them the stitching you see on car seats. That way you challenge each other to take everything to the next level. That really is a great strength. And the great thing is, we are already working on the next project in collaboration with Inspirium."