HOTEL REVIEW
and closer-to-home expansion. Just a few hundred metres from Centraal Station, on the bustling pedestrianised street of Damrak, the new hotel is part of an urban regeneration project ‘The Red Carpet’. Oxenaar was inspired by this title to see Damrak as a catwalk which led to the idea of dressing up the guestrooms in this formerly very run down hotel. Having worked with AMFI at the Lloyd Hotel, the relationship was reinvigorated and eight students and alumni were selected using the hotel project as part of their coursework. The hotel is opposite the former Stock Exchange from which it takes its name. So too the breakfast and lunch dining restaurant, Stock, a narrow space with access only from the street, which focuses on a central counter fronted with faceted blocks of gold bullion. Continuing the trading analogy, next-door is a shop called OPTIONS! Spread over two floors is a great selection of homewares and more. The basement sells rolls of the student’s
beautiful fabrics as used in the hotel and for which they earn commission on sales. The reconstruction of the hotel by architects Onsawerk saw the connection of three tall, narrow buildings, the middle and oldest being from the 17th century. The alleyway entrance has a glazed ceiling that, together with other glazed internal panes, offers views between and within the buildings, allowing for an understanding of their contiguous constructs. Several operational challenges come with the unusual layout. The reception desk occupies a very small space and is housed within a red upholstered handbag (no kidding) packing a strong visual punch. Queues are largely avoided by guests paying in advance which at least eases the pressure on check-out. The two lifts can be used instead of the steep stairs: provided housekeepers are not using them. The involvement of the AMFI students saw first the development of fabrics
050 JULY / AUGUST 2012
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM
ABOVE: Roos Soetekouw’s ‘Misunderstood Creatures’ room OPPOSITE PAGE: The ‘Tailor’s Dummy’ room typifies the use of guestrooms as models which have been dressed in fabrics by students at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute
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