25-04-2019
Architecture

Dutch Design Daily

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SeARCH www.search.nl

Hotel Jakarta

By 25-04-2019

Nominated for BNA Best building of the year 2019
Category quality of life & social cohesion

Because of the prominent location the City Council wanted a unique hotel concept, not only in terms of architecture but also in terms of public programming and sustainability. SeARCH designed on the separate triangular plot an energy-neutral hotel of wood around a central tropical courtyard garden.

Hotel Jakarta is called the greenest hotel of the Netherlands. The wooden 4-star hotel is built around a central atrium with a subtropical garden. In the design, the concept of sustainability is interpreted in the broadest sense of the word and therefore goes hand in hand with experience values and the quality of life.

Thanks to a high-quality and balanced package of sustainability measures the building has become an energy-neutral building (BREEAM Excellent certified), which is located on the quay where until the mid-20th century people arrived from and left for the East and had their first or last look of Amsterdam. Therefore, the design shows references with the relationship between the Netherlands and the island of Java. It was decided to build the hotel around a ‘Javanese’ garden with plants that only grow on that specific Indonesian island.

The garden is the final part of the series of enclosed gardens on the island of Java and it is the beating heart of the hotel. It is surrounded by the dynamic ‘public pasar’ (market) with several bars, a general dining hall, a bakery with coffee corner, a restaurant and a wellness center with swimming pool. Because of the transparent façade the public plinth of the hotel is accessible from all sides. SeArch designed it as a fully public building: a lively cornerstone for the city and a second living room for both the curious globetrotters and the local population and other residents of Amsterdam.

Photos: SeARCH & Iwan Baan