Envy

Envy... was envisioned and developed during the many trips that owner Bert van der Leden made to Rome in connection with the supperclub there.

Italy has countless small delicatessens. There, a village butcher not only sells meat, he also lets his customers sample many of his special products, while at the same time giving advice on which wine is extraordinarily well suited for just the right combination of tastes. It is a new way of experiencing products that makes the customer curious for more, in a small shop where all the products from the countryside are visible right inside the windows and immediately available for tasting. Indeed, they are fresher than fresh. Besides the fact that all the villagers shop there, the attorney from the nearby town also makes a point of driving there in the weekend to do his shopping. At the back of the butcher’s shop there’s a wooden table that serves as a meeting place for the regulars. The guests can sample the products while having a nice conversation over a glass of wine.

Envy creates the same feeling, despite the fact that it doesn’t function as a shop. It is a meeting place with just the right atmosphere, where fresh products and good wines are most important. That is also the reason why Concrete Architectural Associates, the firm that designed the restaurant, chose to combine sleek minimalism with living-room-style comfort. Immediately upon entering, guests can’t help but notice the spacious open kitchen and get a direct sense of the world of the preparation of products. One of the walls consists of 26 refrigerators positioned at eye-level and finished in oak with chrome handles. The refrigerators are intended as showcases for wines, but also for cheeses, sausages, oysters, jams, chutneys, etc. All this serves to arouse an immediate interest in the products, and just looking at them makes your mouth water.

Guests at Envy can either sit down to a full dinner or simply enjoy a nice glass of wine with a bite to eat at the end of the day after work. Changes in the seasons and what they have to offer mean that the menu will change often as well. This menu – a traditional notepad on which the products that have arrived fresh in the morning are written down by hand – does not consist of traditional first courses, main courses and desserts, but rather of dishes the size of a side-dish. That way, guests can decide for themselves, as they go, how many dishes they want. The interior, too, takes these different types of guests into account. All along the wall on the left there are tables and chairs where as many as 54 guests can dine. These tables can be reserved in advance. Starting from the kitchen and continuing straight through the middle to the back are three long elevated tables with barstools, which can seat about 44 guests. These places cannot be reserved but are meant for guests who simply drop by at the end of the afternoon or anytime throughout the evening.

The staff at Envy contribute to a large extent to the atmosphere of a ‘culinary playground’. They know enough about the food and wines to be able to share their enthusiasm with the guests and to give them good advice. What is more, they can even tell interesting stories with background information about the products being served. All this takes place in an easy, relaxed atmosphere. Even more than in other restaurants, the staff at Envy need to take the guests along in an exuberant adventure that challenges them to sample, combine and experience.

The green dot, the logo that Laboratorivm-Mountain designed for Envy, stands for the Envy hallmark, awarded as it were in the sampling of an enviable product. In its assortment of pastries, for example, Envy will be presenting a unique chocolate one. But also just think of other products that have already proved themselves, such as the Van Dobbe croquette and the apple pie from Holtkamp. We envy the perfection of such products, and that is why we will be offering products like these at Envy.

This is all to say that the word ‘restaurant’ is not enough to describe Envy. ‘Delicatessen bar’ is perhaps more appropriate.

Envy is centrally located in Amsterdam at Prinsengracht 381, among the ‘9 little streets’ and near the Westertoren.

Concrete Architectural Associates

Canalhouse Hotel.

The concept of the canalhouse has been to build a luxury boutique hotel which offers all the service you expect from a five star plus hotel combined with the welcoming and warm feeling you get from a home. The aim was to create a true home away from home, in a house which you could use nearly as if it would be your own. Next to the individual rooms the guests have the opportunity to stay in the living room, the parlor room with a house bar, the garden and even in the kitchen according to their needs and mood.

The canalhouse is situated in an old canalhouse in the centre of Amsterdam, in which most of the old ornaments, floor finishes and chimneys still exist. In order to underline the concept and therefore to keep the character of an old canalhouse in a contemporary way, all ornaments were kept but painted black. This made it possible to remain all the opulence of the old times but nevertheless create a contemporary environment.

This abstraction of the ornament is also visible in the rooms. The water jar and bowl placed of ancient times has been reinvented. Bathroom and bedroom merge in to one united experience by placing the bathtub and the double vanity in the bedroom. ‘Bedzone’ and ‘bathzone’ are only separated by a full height mirror. The toilet cubicle is located in the backwall of the room and is accessible from the ‘bathzone’ to guarantee privacy.

The Canal House Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands was developed by the renowned hotel development and management company, Grupo Habita. Grupo Habita is known for its innovative and design-driven hotels, with a focus on creating unique experiences for guests. The Canal House Hotel is situated in a historic 17th-century building along one of Amsterdam's picturesque canals. The hotel's interior design takes inspiration from the city's rich architectural heritage while incorporating contemporary elements. The development of the Canal House Hotel involved careful restoration and preservation of the original building's historic features, such as wooden beams, ornate ceilings, and classic facades. Grupo Habita worked closely with renowned designers to achieve a unique blend of old-world charm and modern sophistication throughout the hotel. The result is a stylish and luxurious boutique hotel that showcases Amsterdam's cultural identity and provides a truly special experience for its guests.

by Concrete Architectural Associates

Almere Library.

The overall design scope consisted of 5000m1 linear meters of bookshelves and accompanying facilities: counters, internet areas, a read café, study areas and a multimedia department. At the request of the client we contributed to the development of the shop-concept: a commercial approach, instead of a standard library positioning and structure, where books are presented to a ‘customer’ and where the library itself becomes a place to stay; more like a modern retail concept.

A typical library and significant retail concepts case-studies were extensively analysed on structure, target groups and the experience-factor. The outcome of the research has led to the foundation of the design.

Almere Library by Concrete Architectural Associates - Children Library - Architecture Design Ideas

Within the new library shop-concept the books are arranged according to different shops instead of numbers. Each section has a lifestyle-orientated space (youth, culture, health, travel, etc…) where books are frontally presented combined with openness.

Because of this the run shopper can find his product directly, while the fun shopper can wander through the landscape of books, explore the different worlds and discover places to sit back and browse through the pages. Meandering bookcases organise the landscape and create an adventurous environment of different identities. The bookcases are built with 1 straight and 5 curve modules. The additional functions are integrated into the bookcases, such as seating, workplaces, info terminals, counters, couches and lighting. This creates the unity and peace in a full library.

The news café is situated in the corner of the building on the second floor, above the entrance. The news café is provided with hundreds of magazines and newspapers, including a circular bar with monitors presenting the latest news.

The game and multimedia department is situated on the fourth floor above the news café, in a similar circular shape where monitors present the games live. These screens are visible from the adjacent city square and make the new library more dynamic.

by Concrete Architectural Associates

Hotel ÜberFluss Bremen, Germany

Hotel ÜberFluss combines the most elegant of contemporary and modern design with a reverence for its still visible medieval foundations. The building’s asymmetrical, slate coloured façade begins to reflect the subdued quirkiness of its interiors, which were designed by Amsterdam’s celebrated design firm, Concrete Architectural Associates. The exterior reflects the style of its neighbouring historic patricians’ houses, transforming it into a contemporary and individualised frame. Upon entering the building, the hotel’s aesthetic philosophy is immediately apparent. ÜberFluss has a colour palette that strays from its black, white or metallic mainly to delve into various shades of light wood, and occasionally to reach as far as a deep red or vibrant yellow. The sleek black of the reception desk’s ornate legs are balanced by the mirrored surface of the central block that supports it and the curvaceous white seating area to its side. The industrial-inspired lamps that shine brightly as spotlights create a soothing warm glow that immediately relaxes any visitor as they enter the space.

The 51 rooms vary enormously: some offer beautiful views of the river Weser, others feature an open bath and shower with a view of the room. Such traditional, softer elements as Chesterfield couches are set off with furniture by Charles Eames and Tom Dixon. Wall sized photomurals of subdued scenes are interspersed with heavily detailed carpets and complex, contemporary seating and lighting, all in varying shades of black and white. Guests who occupy the suites have the additional luxury of a whirlpool, steam bath and Finnish sauna that flow into the open space.

Hotel ÜberFluss has extensive exercise facilities that include a pool where guests can swim while looking at a photomural that gazes over the sea. The building’s medieval foundations are visible in the spa below the sauna’s under-lit, tiled bench.

Its elegant but laid back FreudenHaus restaurant, set with black Eames Bucket Chairs paired with metallic lamps and tables, is enlivened by bold reds and yellows. For business meetings or festivities the airy, glass windowed space on the first floor can accommodate up to sixty people, whereas the penthouse provides facilities for up to forty people. It also features two roof terraces, a cosy bar and a lounge - all three of which maintain the hotel’s elegant and subdued design scheme.

Architects: Kastens und Siemann Architekten BDA
Interior designers: Concrete Architectural Associates, Amsterdam