QO Amsterdam, a LEED Platinum hotel

The hotel has 288 rooms distributed over 21 floors and is located just 10 minutes away from Amsterdam’s central station in an area of the city called Amstelkwartier, currently under development. The hotel is one of the first of the very few LEED Platinum certified four-star hotels in the world. The architectural design, created in collaboration with the Paul de Ruiter Architects and Mulderblauw Architecten studios, is based on energy saving, circular economy and renouncing of the “disposable” concept. The building consists of a compact core of logistic structures surrounded by accommodation areas strategically positioned so that they receive the maximum amount of daylight. Moreover, every room can be ventilated naturally, even on the 20th floor. The façade is dynamic and changes according to guests’ presence in their rooms, weather, time of day and period of the year. The hotel uses geothermal energy for heating and a grey water system where the waste water from the showers is filtered and reused for drainage. What makes this project particularly unique is its overall circular design. Even part of the food used in the kitchen is produced within the hotel, inside a large greenhouse on the roof where an aquaponics system supplies fruit and vegetables as well as fish. Greenhouse-style structures are a leitmotif throughout the hotel, including the interiors where the communal spaces, including the bar, hall and restaurant, were designed by Tank and the bedrooms by Conran & Partners. The different floors are visually connected by a sense of lightness that defines areas without using heavy partitions and facilitates the passage of daylight. The lighting system, which is completely LED, also contributes to energy saving and to the structure’s sense of lightness. Trick luminaires create luminous grids along the corridors. In the bar area, Underscore InOut luminaires were chosen to illuminate the counters and diffuse the light around them, particularly as they blend in perfectly with the surroundings. iPro projectors highlight the perforated-mesh clad metal columns and arches present in many of the hotel areas.