Case / 004 — De Ceuvel + Asile Flottant
One terrain. Two ways to connect it.
Hospitality, offices, studios and floating hotel boats share an unconventional site in Amsterdam-Noord. microdot designed and manages two independent network environments, each distributed in the way its part of the terrain requires.Visit De Ceuvel ↗Visit Asile Flottant ↗
Three organisations
Multiple functions
6 GigaBeam units / 3 point-to-point links
5 switches
21 access points
8 cameras + 2 recorders
1 VoIP base station + 2 handsets
How it developed
From hospitality Wi‑Fi to infrastructure across the terrain.
The beginning
In 2020, De Ceuvel asked whether its hospitality, office and space-rental activities really required several separate internet connections. microdot proposed one managed platform instead, with a gateway, switches and access points connected across the terrain by three point-to-point wireless links.
The expansion
During 2021, the scope expanded to Asile Flottant and to a second, independently managed environment serving the fifteen office and studio boats. Surveillance was added for the hotel and hospitality venue, followed by VoIP telephony for De Ceuvel in 2025.
Two environments
One site did not require one technical answer.
The terrain is shared, but its physical areas work differently. Point-to-point wireless links suit the hospitality and hotel side; the independently operated office and studio boats are reached through cabling beneath the boardwalks.
Connectivity carried across open terrain and water.
A shared connection serves hospitality, offices, space rental and Asile Flottant. Three GigaBeam links distribute it around the site. A central outdoor access point serves the hotel dock; from there, cabling routed beneath the water connects the individual boats, with their onboard network and Wi‑Fi equipment configured by microdot as part of the wider environment.
- Managed gateway + switching
- Three point-to-point wireless links
- Managed indoor + outdoor Wi‑Fi
- Onboard connectivity for the hotel boats
Fifteen work boats connected beneath the boardwalks.
The office and studio boats have their own internet connection, gateway and independently managed UniFi environment. Cabling runs beneath the raised walkways that weave between the boats, providing a wired foundation for Wi‑Fi across this part of the site.
- Separate internet connection + gateway
- Under-boardwalk cabling
- Managed switches + access points
- Independent monitoring + administration
Developing scope
Added carefully as the relationship grew.
The initial network design became a foundation for further work, without forcing every organisation or inherited system into the same model.
Shared platform
Several internet connections were consolidated into one managed environment distributed around De Ceuvel.
Asile Flottant
The hotel joined the shared connection, with a managed uplink, dock Wi‑Fi and onboard connectivity across its floating boats.
Work boats + surveillance
A separate cabled environment was built for the office and studio boats. Existing hotel surveillance was restored and a new hospitality camera system installed.
VoIP telephony
De Ceuvel’s telephone numbers and service were migrated to microdot’s managed VoIP solution.
The design principle
Follow the place, not a predetermined template.
Reducing unnecessary duplication did not mean making everything identical. The useful simplification was at the service and management level; beneath it, each part of the terrain retained the distribution method and degree of independence appropriate to its layout and operation.
Result
A coherent service across an unconventional location.
Client perspective
“Choosing microdot has been one of the best decisions we’ve made in recent years. Josh is highly professional yet wonderfully easygoing, and he has a knack for spotting and fixing problems before we even notice them. Working with him has made our daily operations run noticeably smoother.”Esther Weller - Co-owner, De Ceuvel