The New City Hotel_De Houten Kast

Abstract

The city of Amsterdam, recently, and in the afterlight of the pandemic’s consequences, decided to take a shift on its approach on tourism management. Following the trajectory of Circular Economy values that the city promotes, architecture aspires to contribute as well, as an agent of change on its own. This project as such, exploits environmental and social sustainability as drives of action.
Amsterdam’s entertainment and hospitality industry is renewed by the introduction of an alternative. A hybrid hub of the Arts and Spectacles, a hotel of Artists, the New City Hotel. Located in Leidseplein square, a vibrant and complex public space, the New City Hotel is an urban theater for the ensemble it sits in, an outlet for the city’s entertainment and nightlife. A dramatic theater, center of cultural cultivation, and a civic theater, a stage for all social groups to express their voice in this changing world.
Apart from its social role, the building itself is a bearer of the values it holds. The structure is comprised almost exclusively of timber components. Environmentally friendly and sustainably produced materials are used throughout, from insulation, to finishes, and timber paint. This timber structure is not concealed or masked, on the contrary it is highlighted, embracing activity in its interior. Most importantly, colour is a dominant factor in the attempt to create a significant hotspot for the city, a landmark and a playful, as well as character defining architecture, that compliments its context and relates to Dutch architectural history.
This timber high-rise in the center of the city, amidst its saturated surrounding, challenges the limits of Amsterdam’s cultural profile, heritage and image.