Boeing BBJ

CTM design have supported this customer, the State of the Netherlands for over 15 years. In partnership with ALTEA, we were in close liaison with the various stakeholders of what was to be the States new government aircraft. The aircraft was procured through a turnkey public EU tender. We had to specify the aircraft and its interior at a very early stage, in the tender, without knowing at that time whether it would be an Airbus or a Boeing. We had not one stakeholder interested but a whole nation of tax-paying design savvy observers.

This aircraft was completed at Fokker Techniek in the Netherlands. With Boeing expertise on site in the Netherlands as well, we were sat right alongside Boeing experts and the Fokker team to make sure we could truly reap the potential amongst all of us.

Project Overview

We started this project in 2014, it took us and our customer 3 years to get it to be accepted and ratified by parliament. We could then begin the design in earnest and liaise with the Royal House and Government seat officials to truly begin the interior specification and design. In fact we had the perfect customer, a blend of design aware VVIP’s and a trusting administrative base in which we could truly work to our full potential in producing a vision and overall design that would meet and exceed an array of users expectations.

Design

The Dutch know their design - they have a great design history and an extraordinary current crop of internationally recognised designers. The common theme though is the Dutch can make fun of themselves like no other - so we really wanted to bring in some fun and quirkiness to what was a vanilla government aircraft. We wanted character and not any character - Dutch character.

Outcome

In what was a calm pallet of neutrals and blues we added a burst of colour to the interior elements of cabinetry, using a sunset orange, a colour closely associated with the Netherlands, we bought in hemmed curtains, leather cross stitches and a dutch graphic depicting lots of Dutch clichés, from clogs, to tulips and canal bridges. The finishing touch was to add the blue Delftware china and glassware for a true dutch harmony.