Müller van Tol, the locally based partnership of  Christiane Müller and Bas van Tol, have drawn on their experience of designing restaurants and clubs to infuse raw space with a lively buzz.

Müller van Tol enhanced the top floor restaurant and club, and opened up the ground floor as a lobby-bar, with a conference room opening off to one side. This has become a lively meeting place for hotel guests, office tenants, and local residents.

“Elementary comfort was the guiding principle,” explains van Tol. “To make the rooms affordable for backpackers, the basic room is a concrete cell with two futons on the painted concrete floor, a shower and minimal storage.”

Old black and white newspaper photographs–many recalling the street protests of the 1960s through the 1980s–are silkscreened onto walls, as a reminder of the original occupants. 

What lifts this space far above the typical youth hostel or motel room, is the attention to detail. Deep reveals around bedroom windows provide a place to sit and gaze out while browsing one’s laptop.

The austere finishes feel crafted and each room, however humble, has its own distinct character.

Pivoting and folding shutters enclose the conference room.

“The owner and the people who work for him are young, so the place has a youthful vibe, but we wanted to appeal to a diverse clientele,” says van Tol.