The World’s First Earth, Wind & Fire Hotel OUR CONCEPT

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At the heart of Four Elements Hotel Amsterdam is the revolutionary Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) concept, created by Professor Ben Bronsema, a visionary engineer dedicated to natural climate-technology.

Who is Ben Bronsema?

Ben Bronsema worked for years as a consultant in climate-engineering systems and earned his PhD at TU Delft later in life.

In his dissertation, he described the EWF-concept, which is inspired by how termite mounds in Africa stay cool and ventilated, without air conditioning or conventional heating systems.

He translated these natural principles into a revolutionary building and climate system that runs entirely on sun, wind, earth, and water, with no fossil fuels or traditional HVAC units.

What Is the Earth, Wind & Fire Concept?

The EWF-system consists of three main components:

Climate Cascade

A vertical shaft in the building where outside air is filtered via a fine water mist. The air is cooled in summer by cold groundwater (~13 °C) and heated in winter through heat recovery. This creates natural ventilation, without mechanical cooling or heating.

Solar Chimney

Glass shafts on the building’s south side are heated by sunlight. Warm air rises in these chimneys, drawing fresh air in through the climate cascade. This leads to a permanent, quiet airflow throughout the building.

Ground-Source Thermal Storage & Heat Pump (WKO)

Heat and cold are stored in the ground. In summer, the building uses cold from the ground to cool; in winter, stored heat is used to warm both water and air.

“Nature already has the solutions. We just need to learn to listen.” — Ben Bronsema

Why is this unique?

Four Elements Hotel Amsterdam is the first hotel in the world that runs on the Earth, Wind & Fire concept and serves as an example project for sustainable architecture. The hotel demonstrates that comfort, luxury and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.

The building is nearly Zero Energy: it generates approximately as much energy as it uses. It is BREEAM Excellent–certified and is a practical example for students, engineers and architects worldwide.

Sources of inspiration

Ben Bronsema based his ideas on natural ecosystems: how animals regulate temperature, ventilate and stay comfortable - without technology.

His vision is: “Nature already has the solutions. We just need to learn to listen.”

At Four Elements Hotel the commitment to sustainability goes much further than the building itself.

The revolutionary Earth, Wind & Fire concept forms the core of our energy supply, but our vision of sustainability reaches into every detail of our daily operation.

We believe that sustainability is truly powerful only when it is present in everything: in the interior, the kitchen, the clothing, the meeting tables, and even in the glass in which your drink is served.

Built with respect for the Earth

Our walls in the hotel rooms are made of recycled concrete, sourced from demolished buildings in the Netherlands.

The wooden floors are sustainably produced, without chemical treatment. We use stone-wool insulation, FSC-certified wood and recycled materials wherever possible.

All furniture in the restaurant and meeting rooms is recycled or refurbished.

In one of our meeting rooms there is a special table made of plastic retrieved from the Amsterdam canals.

This circular design table is not only a sustainable showpiece, but also a meaningful artwork, the same table can be found in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

Sustainable serving: from glass to dish

In the restaurant you drink from glasses made of recycled wine-bottles, locally cut and polished.

The menu changes with the seasons and our chefs work with products from Instock: an organisation that prevents food waste by supplying “rescued” ingredients.

Also in the bar and breakfast lounge, we use as many organic, local and ‘no-waste’ products as possible.

All of our staff uniforms are made of recycled materials such as reclaimed cotton and PET bottles.

Even our linen and cleaning services are selected based on their environmental policy and water-consumption.

Everything we use, from furniture to glasses, is chosen with reuse, recycling or composting in mind.

At Four Elements Hotel Amsterdam we believe that luxury and sustainability go hand in hand. Not as a trend, but as a conviction. What you see as comfort, we have chosen with care for a better world, today and tomorrow.

Het Gebouw

The hotel is built around the revolutionary EWF concept, developed by Prof. Ben Bronsema (TU Delft). This system mimics natural airflow patterns, inspired by termite mounds in Africa, to ensure a pleasant indoor climate without conventional air conditioning. Instead we use natural ventilation and heat storage.

Breeam

An “Excellent” BREEAM score, like the one attained by Four Elements Hotel, is reserved only for buildings that perform exceptionally well on all fronts.