The team at concrete, led by Rob Wagemans, its founder, has designed a home away from home with a touch of luxury for ‘mobile citizens of the world’ in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Located in the Gelderseplein area, near Blaak train station and opposite Binnenrotte Market, the new 151-room citizenM hotel offers quality accommodation for both business and leisure travellers.
The concept behind citizenM hotels is a straightforward one: to remove all hidden costs whilst providing a luxury environment for guests. The interior is characterised by citizenM’s iconic black and red colour scheme and enhanced with bold architectural features, including a timber helical staircase, designed by concrete and manufactured by EeStairs.
The bedrooms offer guests a practical and comfortable place to recharge, whilst public spaces provide areas for working, dining, and relaxing at the end of the day.
Visitors are welcomed to the hotel through the iconic citizenM red glazed entrance vestibule, before arriving in the double height foyer where the helical staircase is situated. The staircase has been carefully co-ordinated with the cabinetry, featuring a matching timber finish on the treads and outside of the balustrades, in addition to a black finish on the interior balustrade.
An understated brushed stainless steel handrail, set against the black balustrade, traces the graceful rise of the staircase. Set against black floor-to-ceiling cabinets, the staircase creates a visual and physical connection between the entrance on the ground floor and the public lounge and dining area on the first.
“concrete has created an exciting interior at citizenM Rotterdam,” says Cornelis van Vlastuin, EeStairs’ creative director. “The contrast between the block colours of the black cabinets and red furnishings, with the natural appearance of the wooden staircase adds depth and texture to the entrance.
“After noticing the furniture, guests are drawn to the staircase and as they climb are able to explore the objects on display in the wall-covering cabinet.”
The island bar is positioned next to a semi-open kitchen and can provide guests with everything from breakfast to an evening nightcap. On one side the bar extends into a dining area, overlooking the square below. The other side of the bar is occupied by a large wooden communal reading table, which creates a sense of continuity with the staircase in the entrance hall.
The bedrooms offer guests an escape to recuperate or work in comfort. There is a wall-to-wall, super-king- size bed, to lounge in, a table which doubles as a desk and a flat screen television.
For that added air of luxury each room is equipped with a touch screen mood pad that allows guests to control the whole room, including the curtains, climate and television. It also comes with six pre-programmed light settings creating a number of atmospheric settings, including work, shower and even ‘surprise me’.
Equipped with rainfall and a hand shower, the wet room is constructed from semi-circular frosted glass for a sense of transparency and privacy. The translucent ceiling lights can be set to any colour, which makes the bathroom a stand-out feature within the room.
