Spacemaker: Xander de Bueno de Mesquita
Spacemakers
Monique van Dusseldorp introduced me to Xander for Happyplaces. He founded the former QO hotel in Amsterdam, a place for those ‘treating life well’. The core idea of the hotel was to care for conscious, creative cosmopolitans by offering them an inspiring hotel experience where they can enjoy beauty, craftsmanship and a balanced and sustainable lifestyle.
Xander is the founding father of ‘Treating Life Well’, a concept built on the sweet spot between three primary ideas: circularity, placemaking and hospitality. His firm belief is that these three ideas redefine how human beings interact with the world and how that interaction can produce positivity and energy instead of waste and isolation.
The hotel became Europe’s most sustainable and first LEED Platinum-certified Living Building. By aiming to close the loops of water, energy, CO2, and waste, Xander proved that respect for humans and the planet could go hand in hand. Furthermore, by creating a flexible, elegant, and innovative space, Xander illustrated that consciousness does not need to come at the expense of comfort or community.
I visited him in Lisbon, where he was about to embark on a new adventure. He wants to create a place in Portugal with a multidisciplinary team to work towards a sustainable future. It is a concrete experiment to build a community organically, a way of life-based on regenerating the area, sustainable agriculture, circular economy, local craftsmanship and education. A place where new ideas about being human can manifest. A place for a resilient, open community connected to nature and the local population. But above all, it is a hospitable place where people (temporarily) live, come to visit, stay, learn and cooperate when travelling.
For my playful research project, Happyplaces Project, I ask people how they make space or what space means to them. I have had over 1,100 conversations and often capture them in film, photos, and stories. But I have yet to capture many people who made space for me or taught me something. That is what I’m doing now. Xander is one of those people.