Spherical hotel attracts even more attention
With its out-of-the-ordinary shape, the Fletcher Hotel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has become an important landmark for this city. Architect BenthemCrouwel wanted to create a building that envisaged itself from other office buildings in the area. They decided that a spherical building would clearly set the structure apart. The hotel is encased in a 4,050 m² (43,594 ft²) glass shell, obscuring the number of floors and adding a sense of mystery for guests and passersby.
Building a hotel with a circular frame involved many challenges, especially when it came to choosing a lighting solution that would complement the unusual shape. Conventional luminaires were not sufficient to illuminate the powerful façade. Lighting designer Jurgen Bal of Livingprojects knew that an LED solution would be the way to go, and that Color Kinetics had the right products for the job.
Color Kinetics created a custom eW Graze luminaire for the installation's unique requirements. The luminaire was exceptionally slim, to provide clearing for the glass washing apparatus, which must be able to move freely up and down the façade without interfering with the luminaires.
Luminaires were placed 170 m (558 ft) apart on the upper and lower sides of the buildings. Custom stainless steel brackets, required to keep the luminaires in place, were fabricated to match the exact color of the building.
When the installation was complete in January 2013, Bal was thrilled with the end result.
"Thanks to the exceptional shape, the Fletcher Hotel was already an impressive sight for people that would pass the building on the highway. Thanks to the lighting installation, the hotel instantly becomes an eye-catcher," said Bal.
