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Classic hotel gets modern look
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LOCATED in Amsterdam’s museum district, the Conservatorium is a contemporary luxury lifestyle hotel located in a magnificent Neo-Gothic building.
Originally constructed in 1897, it was designed by the Dutch architect Daniel Knuttel as the Rijkspostspaarbank (Dutch Savings Bank) and sparked the regeneration of the city’s museum quarter at the end of the 19th century.
The building abandoned in 1978 and stood empty for five years when the bank moved to a new location. It later became the home of the Sweelinck Conservatorium, until 2008 when the Conservatorium of Amsterdam outgrew its home and departed to a new location.
Attracted by its glorious past, The Set purchased the heritage building immediately and invited award-winning Milan-based designer Piero Lissoni to restore its former beauty with a modern language.
Lissoni said: “Conservatorium hotel juxtaposes contemporary design with the historic architecture of a building rich with heritage. Working with the austere beauty of Daniel Knuttel’s original architecture, I have created a succession of luminous spaces based around a soaring glass atrium, into which I have interposed striking modern architectural elements to create a structure that is both visually stunning and sensitive to the building’s history.”
“Contemporary furniture is mixed with classic mid-century modernist pieces as well as occasional vintage finds from Asia, which all contrast playfully with an on-going bath of natural daylight throughout the building’s airy spaces,” he added.
Working under strict preservation regulations, the Italian designer devised a dramatic lobby that inhabits a courtyard lined in a pale-green Italian Lithoverde stone and is capped by a glass-and-steel roof. The light–filled atrium reimagines a classic English garden while tapping into “the double life of indoor-outdoor spaces.”
“Much of the furniture is designed by me though tables by the Italian modernist Franco Albini are a centerpiece of the lobby’s bustling afternoon tea,” he said.
A sleek steel staircase links the lobby with the rest of the hotel, creating a catwalk like transition. Outstanding furnishings from leading manufactures such as Cassina, Living Divani and Vitra, among others, with custom made furniture and lighting on Lissoni’s own design mix harmoniously in all communal spaces while accenting objets trouves, vintage pieces and antique Asian rugs.
“The sophisticated beauty of the hotel was conceived with the hope of creating a personal atmosphere and ambience whereby guests and visitors alike instantly feel good,” Lissoni said.
Central to the hotel’s vision of elegance, good living and cultural distinction has also been the addition of new restaurants and bars. Tunes Bar is an intimate space where Lissoni places a mix of vintage Italian Art Deco pieces and mid-century Knoll Bertoia chairs. The most compelling focal point is a transparent bar that illuminates the entire space with a warm glow.
With eight floors and 129 guestrooms and suites, guests can choose accommodations ranging from a spacious superior room up to a penthouse suite. Brushed-oak flooring, beige furniture and luxury linens define an interior style and a color scheme that is both modern and classic.
Lissoni conceived the new Conservatorium in the belief that a hotel should suit its location, good design should be functional and exceptional service should be friendly.
“It is fitting that these are also intrinsically Dutch values.”
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