Images courtesy NL Architects.
When Chinese president Xi Jinping called for the end of all of the “weird architecture” in China, Dutch designers NL Architects must not have gotten the memo. Their design for a chain of hotels is one of the weirdest yet, in a very good way. Each one is shaped — in the most blatant way — like a giant chunk of the gemstone amethyst.
These quartz buildings are cut in half to reveal a purple crystalline surface. The concave façade gives each room a faceted window and interior, and is meant to invoke the healing qualities of amethyst. The large void is made of many angled glass panes, making it so much like a crystal that it’s making me giddy.
Each hotel will be part of a branded scheme that includes buildings in cities, on islands, and along coastlines, each a glowing, shimmering rock. The first one will be on a man-made island in China, and it seems like the always outrageous NL Architects have outdone themselves. Or maybe the client just picked the right guys for the job.
NL Architects is known for their playful, inspiring work. They have been leaders of the Dutch architecture world for many years, and although recently they have gotten more deadpan, they are behind some of the wildest work coming out of the Netherlands today.