Renewed hotel in monumental buildings in Amsterdam | derksen windt architecten

In the center of Amsterdam, derksen|windt architects created, developed and supervised the design until completion for a complete renovation of the Nicolaas Witsen hotel. The hotel has been located in 3 beautiful connected buildings from 1890 for 40 years. The project started by looking at what was possible with the then almost unused basement and the somewhat dated entrance, kitchen and dining room on the ground floor. The time for major maintenance had also arrived.

Everything has been addressed and adjusted. From the entrance, which has been partly restored in the old style, the complete layout of all floors including the access, the extended basement where rooms and facilities have been added, to the complete installations. A wonderful assignment in the city center of Amsterdam.

During the renovation, the facades were renovated, the non-original rear extension was replaced and the small basement was deepened into a full-fledged floor with 5 rooms. The building is fully equipped with new sustainable installations and the facades, roof and glass in the frames are also insulated. Optimum acoustic comfort has now also been achieved everywhere. The new hotel offers guests more space and light in a monumental building and is ready for the future with this renovation.

The original attic floor was replaced in the 1960s with a new facade with large glass surfaces and, like many other buildings in Amsterdam, the building enjoys a protected status. The original layout of the hotel was the result of many small adjustments over time, with access to the rooms via many small corridors and stairwells. The cramped entrance, the outdated breakfast room and rooms and the unsustainable installations of the hotel gave rise to a new design in which we tackled the building down to the basics.

In the new hotel, the entire (non-original) layout has been removed and we have created a new stairwell with one central corridor that provides access to the rooms. The size and layout of the new rooms is based on the principle of boutique hotels; a modest surface but very spacious due to the layout and the large ceiling height with matching windows that the beautiful building has. Together with the clients, the layout of the rooms, the entrance and the dining area with the kitchen has been thought out in detail. Studio Hank was then involved in the project for the bar and counter, the decoration and the furniture.