The bank

The majestic colossus on Amsterdam's Rembrandtplein, which served as the head office of ABN Amro for almost eighty years, is now an equally impressive office and retail building. The architects Zwiers and Fontein drastically overhauled Ouëndag and Berlage's stately bank in the 1960s, while Rijnboutt went in search of the building's soul. To ensure it became an integral and appropriate part of the city center again, the building itself had to be restored to its original coherence.

Light and openness align with this reinterpretation. The previously closed plinth has been opened up for shops and restaurants with floor-to-ceiling windows and a new entrance at the corner of Rembrandtplein. The space above is designated for offices. Relief, rhythm, and articulation have been restored to the facade. The white roof structure now features a glass skylight. The atrium, constructed in the 1960s, has been transformed back into an immense light-filled court where glass and natural stone set the tone. On the sixth floor, a walkway steals the show.