NIO house's amsterdam flagship by MVRDV culminates in an airy blue pavilion

first look at nio house amsterdam flagship

Electric car manufacturer NIO has opened its flagship location in Europe, occupying a seven-story building on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht originally built in the late 19th century. The new NIO House Amsterdam renovates the building with an interior design by MVRDV architects, combining design elements reflective of NIO’s brand and a careful treatment of the historic building. Now offering a wide variety of spaces for relaxing, working, events, and exhibitions, the building’s levels 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.

all images © Ossip van Duivenbode

housed inside a renovated 19th-century building

The architecture has a storied history. Designed by Jan van Looy, it was built in 1891 for the New York Life Insurance Company and was among the tallest private buildings in Amsterdam. For most of the 20th century, it was home to the Metz & Co department store. In 1933, it 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.

inside the NIO House Amsterdam flagship by MVRDV

mixed-use showroom with a vertical color gradient by MVRDV

Just as in all of their locations worldwide, the arrival of a NIO House by MVRDV (see more here) turns the building not just into a typical car showroom, but a public building with various functions that contribute to the neighborhood 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 organizations can utilize 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.

the flagship is not just a typical car showroom

Finally – above a fifth floor reserved for NIO’s offices – are event spaces on the sixth floor and the rooftop pavilion. In MVRDV’s design, the staircase, with its historic details once again revealed, becomes a central element of the design and is always visible from the main spaces on each floor to help orient visitors. Throughout the project, the space is opened as much as possible to create a light and airy environment, removing internal walls, raising ceilings, and emphasizing vertical connections such as the atrium that links the ground floor with the café.

NIO House Amsterdam’s levels form a color gradient

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. On the ground and first floors, the walls are paneled with a 3D-printed material made from recycled drinks cartons, developed in partnership with Amsterdam-based Aectual, giving an earthy color and a fluted texture. Meanwhile, the floors are made from Duracryl’s Durabella, a sustainable terrazzo flooring made with renewable resources. On the level above, the walls and floors are finished with wood, while on the third floor, wood floors are complemented with eco-friendly paint. The fourth floor features a peachy orange gradient on its walls, drawing attention to the vaulted ceilings of the original building.

a public building with various functions

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. NIO House Amsterdam is the third and – as the electric car manufacturer’s European flagship – the largest NIO House designed by MVRDV. It follows NIO House Chongqing, which opened in 2019, and NIO House Rotterdam, which opened in 2023 as NIO’s first location in the Netherlands.

gold-blue gradient

panoramic views over the rooftops of Amsterdam

combining design elements of NIO’s brand and a careful treatment of the historic building

an airy blue that fills the building’s modernist rooftop pavilion

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project info:

name: NIO House Amsterdam

location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

architect: MVRDV | @mvrdv

founding partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs

partner: Fokke Moerel

client: NIO | @nioglobal

design team: Aser Giménez Ortega, María López Calleja, Elien Deceuninck, Egle Jacinaviciute, Xiaoyi Qin, Jiameng Li, Martyna Maciacszek, Monica di Salvo, Basak Gunalp, Sanel Beciri, Turker Naci Saylan, Giovanni Nardi, Jeremy de Hoop, Aleksandra Sliwinska, Samuel Delgado, Thiago Maso, Ela Kara

strategy and development: Sruti Thakrar
copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries Partners:
project management: Turner & Townsend

engineering: ABT
general contractor: ToBuild
technical installations: WeMaintain
interior installations: DeHaas Interior Partner

construction management: Original Spaces

3D printing: Aectual
terrazzo flooring: Duracryl

photography: © Ossip van Duivenbode | @ossipvanduivenbode

year: 2022–2024

total area: 2,700 sqm

program: Car showroom, café, office, kids playground, gallery, event spaces, lounge