The W Amsterdam Hotel spreads through two monumental buildings standing across each other on Spui Straat just behind the Royal Palace and the Dam Square. The Bank building was erected in 1908 while the Telephone Service Building was inaugurated in 1928. Both shared the same purpose, to 'connect & exchange’, a value which inspired us throughout the design process.
The restoration and transformation of the former Bank building was meant to rejuvenate the monument and convert it into a five star W hotel. The building was one of the first concrete construction in the Netherlands with a sandstone façade finishing. Closed , private and introvert, it would now become public for the first time. Our biggest challenge was how to appropriate the building into its new role without losing its monumental character. The building challenged us to think differently and come up with a fresh way to develop both the hotel and the spa. We had to convince the building it could become different and any unforgiving standpoint on behalf of the building was turned into an opportunity to invent new ways of defining and experiencing the spa.