Profile

ABN AMRO Bank Head Office

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Completed 1999

Bank headquarters
 

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The new Head Office of ABN AMRO was designed to express the character and identity of one of the world's leading banks (recently created through the unification of two Dutch financial institutions). The architectural composition emblematizes the merger as orthogonal forms in black granite interlock with curved sloped forms of metal and glass. The design responds to a request by the Board of Managers to reinforce the image of the new bank as "powerful, reliable, experienced" and also "professional, dynamic and international." 

The headquarters maximizes its key location in south central Amsterdam where an extensive rail system, the proposed introduction of high-speed "bullet" trains, and the planned widening of the adjacent A10-Motorway all anticipate the area's role as a major international nexus of the emerging EEC. The new Head Office of ABN AMRO is the first major work in the development of this new area. It fronts on a new municipal plaza created by the city of Amsterdam as the main public space of the new district.

ABN AMRO plays a prominent role on Amsterdam's skyline, while providing welcoming public spaces inside and around the complex. In addition to the 24-story emblematic tower, it includes a supplementary 17-story tower, two levels of underground parking, and a 6-story multi-function Courtyard Building shaped like a hollow square. The latter houses offices and such "special spaces" as a 3-story reception hall, 225-seat auditorium, 400-seat congress hall, 20-room meeting center, 500-seat staff restaurant, and a centrally located 600-seat Dealing Room for securities and international exchange. On the roof of the 2-story Dealing Room is a quiet, sun-filled courtyard that serves as the physical and spiritual heart of the ABN AMRO community.

Major Components

44,700m² gross standard office spaces within

24-story office tower (standard office spaces on floors 2–19, boardrooms and offices of the Managing Board on floors 20–22, guest restaurant on floors 23–24)

17-story  tower (standard office spaces on floors 2–16, staff restaurant on top floor)

6-story Courtyard Building housing a 3-story curved Central Hall, 400-seat Congresshalle, 200-seat auditorium, meeting center with 20 meeting meeting rooms, and a 500-seat staff restaurant

2,300m² landscaped courtyard with Dealing Room below    

30,200m² parking for 750 cars on two levels below ground

Awards

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners services

Architectural Design; Interior Design; coordination with associate architect on construction documents and construction administration

Associate Architect

de Architekten Cie., Amsterdam

Structural

Aronsohn Raadgevende Ingenieurs, BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing

Technical Management, Amersfoort, The Netherlands

Lighting

de Architekten Cie., Amsterdam

Associate Architect / Interiors

Studio Merkx, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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