Otto Nan is the most interesting person of Willem Baars
There are many people who organise parties and raves or promote exhibitions in warehouses, and artistic endeavors of that sort. And one thing I’ve noticed is that none of them, ever, go on to run large, internationally renowned, successful hotels. It just doesn’t happen.
Unless your name is Otto Nan.
Nan is the managing director of Amsterdam’s prestigious Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy. But while one has expectations of ‘what’ a hotel is, and who a hotelier would ‘be’, the Lloyd hotel under Nan are not typical of these expectations.
What makes the place unique is that it caters for travellers of every class. Each of its 117 is divided into one of five, from 1 star (shared bathroom) designed by Christoph Seyferth, to 5 star (grand piano, bed for eight) designed by Joep van Lieshout. Each space designed by a representative of the finest from the Dutch design community.
And when we say every class of traveller, we mean both in terms of budget, and in terms of style. Fused within the building’s rooms, libraries, exhibition and event spaces, restaurants and bars, is an effort to open the suitcases of their guests and unpack the cultural riches that lie within them. The Cultural Embassy is where you go to discover the traveller as explorer, contained in a space with a long history of inviting culturally diverse guests to stay; some invited some forced.
Built in 1918, the building was used as a safe-house for Jewish refugees in the lead up to World War II, before being turned into a prison by the Nazis, and a juvenile prison post war. In the 90s it was used as an artist’s space, before Nan and his design partner Suzanne Oxenaar presented a concept for the Hotel and Cultural Embassy, with architectural designs by MVRDV to the city council. Eight years later, they opened the doors to a fully restored hotel, as true to its original beauty as it ever has been.
Nan has pulled off an ambitious project, a commercial success that creatively engages the wider community of Amsterdam. Yet his attitude outlook is more permissive, relaxed and philosophical then managerial or corporate. For example, his choice of book, Yann Martel‘s, Life of Pi is about an ambiguous journey taken by boy with little control of its destination, written by a man who said that the writing of it gave him direction and purpose in his life.
What to say about the man who is at once the wondering philosopher and the focussed entrepreneur?
They have room service in every room.
Stuart Acker Holt
The Five Questions
What is your name and what would you say people best know you for?
My name is Otto Nan, and I’m the Managing Director of the Lloyd Hotel and the conceptual designer of the Exchange Hotel. What I’m known best for is a difficult question to answer. I would say people know me best for being a good person and considerate as much for my achievements.
Where are we and why is this place interesting for you?
We are in the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam. This is our studio to explore our ideas and is a dream that took years to build.
If there was one book the whole world should read, which book would that be?
That would be Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’. For me it is about the wonder of life, how you can influence somethings in some ways, but the greater picture is a mystery, and a mind-fuck.
If there was one piece of music the world should hear which piece would that be?
The Sinner In Me by Depeche Mode, remixed by Ricardo Villalobos. Villalobos succeeded in making a brilliant but sad song, light and somehow joyful. The combination is a profound experience.
Who is the Most Interesting person you know in Amsterdam and why?
Kostijn Egberts, he is the manager of the best musicians in The Netherlands such as De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig”, “Le Le” and Tom Trago. I see him as a visionary.