nhow Amsterdam RAI Hotel

With 650 rooms the Nhow RAI Hotel it is the largest hotel in the Benelux, the latest in a series of themed hotels from the chain, and the second designed by OMA.

The hotel consists of three stacked triangular volumes, with the middle section rotated 90 degrees. The large overhangs which emerge as a result, in addition to providing a series of sheltered roof terraces, create the impression of a building defying gravity.

Aluminum mullions, alternately spaced depending on the aspect, ridge the facade. Each mullion is triangular in profile, with either of its sides matt or polished, giving the facades their lenticular quality – shimmering as it shifts on the horizon.

The form, initially derived from the triangular constraints of the site, also pays tribute to “Het Signaal”, the once prominent advertising totem on the Europaplein. Overtaken by a multitude of office towers as part of the Zuidas development, Het Signaal has in recent times ceded its command of the surrounds. As its heir the hotel extends the domain of the RAI once again, broadening its effective horizon: a beacon by which the people from Amsterdam, and visitors to the city, can orient themselves.

OMA
Partner: Reinier de Graaf, Rem Koolhaas
Associate: Michel van de Kar

Competition
Phase 1: Anton Anikeev, Marc-Achille Filhol, Alain Fouraux, Mark Veldman, Peter Rieff
Phase 2: Eugenia Bevz, Geraldine van Dijk, Alain Fouraux, Aris Gkitzias, Hans Larsson, Stavros Gargaretas, Yushang Zhang

Schematic Design: Marc-Achille Filhol, Alain Fouraux, Michel van de Kar, Roza Matveeva, Jonathan Telkamp

Design Development: Ido den Boer, Paloma Bule, Katrien van Dijk, Alain Fouraux, Michel van de Kar, Edward Nicholson, Lukasz Skalec, Magdalena Stanescu

Contractor: Pleijsierbouw
Structural Engineering: Van Rossum Raadgevende Ingenieurs
MEP & Vertical circulation: Techniplan Adviseurs BV
BREEAM consultant: Techniplan Adviseurs BV
Fire consultant: Royal HaskoningDHV
Building physics / Acoustic consultant: Royal HaskoningDHV
BIM coordinator: Van den Berg Groep