Amsterdam Airport Schiphol opens innovative lounge:

Today marked the opening of the completely refurbished Departure Lounge 3 at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. President and CEO of Schiphol Group, Jos Nijhuis, and Schiphol Airside Business Partners Chair, Benno Leeser, presided at the opening celebration. Departure Lounge 3 is the passenger retail and leisure area beyond passport control, and is an international waiting area that sees some 5.3 million travellers pass through each year before boarding their flight. . The refurbished lounge presents an exciting synergy of Dutch and international brands, including a flower shop innovatively housed in a glass ‘canal-side’ façade and the first branch of Victoria’s Secret to open in Europe.

According to Maarten de Groof, Executive Vice President and CCO of Schiphol Group, ‘In our ambition to be and remain Europe's preferred airport, innovation in facilities and services is a fundamental requirement. Sustainability also played a vital role in this renovation. We used sustainable building options wherever possible, for example, and the same goes for the use of LED lighting in all the shops. With all these features, the new Departure Lounge 3 can continue to hold its own against all the world’s best airport lounges’.

A wealth of choices

Departure Lounge 3 offers 26 shops, seven food service outlets and various other services ranging from wellness to free WiFi to a currency exchange office. Among the visual highlights is the ‘House of Tulips’ – a flower shop with a green glass house suspended in the air above. Its prominent green design incorporates two Dutch icons: a typical Amsterdam townhouse façade and a greenhouse.

International brands such as the first Victoria’s Secret in Europe, Burberry, Swarovski, Mont Blanc and – another new arrival at Schiphol – Hermès, are well represented in the new lounge.

To tempt passengers’ taste buds, the lounge features food and beverages from both Dutch and international cuisine. One notable establishment is Bread! – not only for its design incorporating bread racks that tower high in the air in the heart of the lounge, but also for its wide variety of sandwiches and fresh-squeezed fruit juices. East bar & bites and the fifth branch of Starbucks at Schiphol give the lounge an additional international culinary touch.

Design

For the design of Departure Lounge 3, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol contracted the architectural firms of Benthem Crouwel NACO and Merkx+Girod, whose main task was to create an innovative retail and leisure area characterised by calm, light and logic. The light, layered design of the façade gives the departure lounge its own, unmistakable identity. The subtle dot pattern was inspired by maps and embraces the shops like a soft skin. Each shop retains its own character within the overall design, with maximum visibility and spaciousness. Three Dutch symbols are repeated throughout the central square in a functional form: flowers, cheese and bread. The square was created in collaboration with design firm Tjep.