Leidinghuis — Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Westergasfabriek, an urban renewal project involving various creative businesses, restaurants, boutiques and galleries housed in a former gasworks in Amsterdam, has introduced a unique lodging facility. Furnished by Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek, the gas bell’s two semi-circular extensions that used to control the in and outlet of gas, are remodelled into a single hotel suite. Staying true to his flair for reclaimed materials and understated design solutions, Eek’s only digression from his signature austerity are the bright orange dining table and chairs, topped by a matching chandelier. Ascending half a flight of stairs, guests will find a small kitchenette, a bathroom and a library that lie interspersed between the building’s original valves and chambers, furnished with the designer’s Balken armchair and Sloophout light fixture for Murray. A turquoise staircase leads up to a loft-like double bed suspended beneath the timber roof rafters of one of the semi-cylindrical annexes.