[Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 24, 2024]
Electric car manufacturer NIO opened its 125th "Nio House" in Amsterdam. The grand opening day event was attended by NIO's founder, chairman, and CEO William Li, co-founder and president Qin Lihong, representatives of NIO's European user community, and over 200 partners and guests.
NIO House | Amsterdam is located in the historic Metz Building at 32-34 Leidsestraat in central Amsterdam, near Keizersgracht, Dam Square, and the Royal Palace. In collaboration with renowned Dutch architectural design firm MVRDV, NIO has revitalized this seven-story building built in the late 19th century. This newest 'flagship-scale' addition to NIO's brand experience spaces around the world and marks a major step in NIO's global expansion.
The project renovated the building with expressions of NIO's brand with a respectful treatment of the historic building:
The building's space program features a wide variety of spaces for car viewing, dining, office space, childcare, exhibitions, lectures, relaxation, reading, and social gatherings, which clearly sets a different tone than a typical 'car showroom.' It projects into the physical space realm the brand's "Beyond the Car" vision ("Beyond the Car" sits on the top-level navigation of the brand's homepage).
The seven floors also form a color gradient inspired by NIO’s “blue sky coming” slogan, from earthy colors on the lower floors to an airy blue that fills the building’s modernist rooftop pavilion.
According to the Dutch architecture and interior design firm MVRDV, the building has a storied history: designed by Jan van Looy, when it was built in 1891 for the New York Life Insurance Company it was among the tallest private buildings in Amsterdam. For the majority of the 20th century, it was home to the Metz & Co department store and in 1933 was extended by a steel and glass rooftop pavilion designed by Gerrit Rietveld, arguably the most important Dutch architect of the modernist movement. Despite this heritage, in 2013 it became home to an Abercrombie & Fitch store; as a consequence, the upper floors including the Rietveld pavilion were closed to the public, and many of the original interior details were covered up.
Just as in all of their locations worldwide, the arrival of a NIO House turns the building not just into a typical “car showroom," but a public building with a variety of functions that contribute to the neighbourhood that hosts it. Above the car showcase on the ground floor is a café including a soft yellow kids’ corner; next, the second floor is home to the Forum, which local businesses and event organisations can utilise for workshops, presentations, and small-scale lectures, alongside a “Joy Camp” where children can entertain themselves. The third floor features co-working spaces that can be booked and used by the public, while the fourth is home to an art and design gallery that can equally be used to show NIO products or as a platform for local artists to showcase their work. Finally – above a fifth floor reserved for NIO’s own offices – are event spaces in the sixth floor and the rooftop pavilion.
Photos © Ossip van Duivenbode
“The exciting challenge of this project was in unifying the history of this building with the identity of NIO, a company which in many senses is interested in offering a vision of the future”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “In a sense, we are confronting the same challenge that Rietveld resolved so gracefully 90 years ago. NIO House Amsterdam shows how the old and the new can provide a counterpoint for one another and ultimately enrich each other.”
The design team devised a palette of materials that becomes progressively cleaner and lighter as it ascends the building, suggesting an atmospheric journey from earth to sky. This gradual vertical change culminates in the top two floors. The walls of the sixth transition from gold to blue, leading into the sky-blue floor, finishes, and ceiling of the Rietveld pavilion. Here, the essence of this piece of modernist history is faithfully preserved, with refined finishes such as the carpet and curtains helping to make it an exquisite space for events such as galas and fashion shows – just as it was almost 100 years ago. The glass walls of Rietveld’s design give panoramic views over the rooftops of Amsterdam, completing the feeling of expansive lightness and giving space for visitors to reflect on the future to come.
Find more info about the project and credits at https://www.mvrdv.com/projects/926/nio-house-amsterdam
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