Bennetts Associates’ first project outside the UK is the setting for a dramatic fusion of the angles and radial incisions demanded by Erik van Egeraat Associates’ masterplan with the rational planning and construction required of a 553-bedroom hotel.

As a prominent part of Amsterdam’s Eastern Dock Island regeneration project, the hotel develops the award-winning concepts first developed by Bennetts Associates at Mint Hotel Westminster in 2003. The masterplan envisages all six buildings to be part of a coherent urban form and so the hotel develops its sharp geometrical language around a courtyard, with two public floors below six to nine levels of bedroom accommodation. The bedrooms, terraces and SkyLounge are arranged to maximise views across the water and a spectacular panorama of the old town. To the north side, the Island’s access road undercuts the building and produces a cantilevered range of accommodation that accentuates its angular plan whereas, on the south, the public areas spill out on to a pedestrianised quayside.

The facades are a complex series of material layers, comprising moveable shutters, timber or metal panels and brickwork, thereby emulating the spirit of traditional Dutch architecture whilst being faithful to the needs of high quality hotel rooms.