World renowned as the design capital of the Netherlands and host city for Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven welcomes a new wave of artistic expression through the opening of Kazerne. An ever-evolving scene of stimulating visual design set in the charismatic De Bergen district, the hotel combines eight luxury lofts and suites with a spectacular 2,500-square-meter exhibition space, as well as a private members club that allows guests to connect with the local creative community. Housed in former military barracks—for which the hotel is named—and an adjoining industrial warehouse, Kazerne is a tangible celebration of design, immersing guests in an environment where they eat, drink, meet, and sleep surrounded by the works of leading and upcoming designers.
The brainchild of husband-and-wife team Annemoon Geurts & Koen Rijnbeek, Kazerne is a hybrid hospitality concept designed to provide guests with an authentic immersion into Eindhoven’s internationally renowned creativity and artistic expression. Collaborating with established and upcoming figures of the Dutch design scene such as Maarten Baas, Studio Drift, and Studio Formafantasma, Geurts and Rijnbeek have created a museum-like platform within a hotel setting. The transient exhibitions often come about by working together with renowned guest curators such as Lidewij Edelkoort or Ilse Crawford. These exhibitions sit alongside permanent, timeless design elements to create an inspiring space in which memorable connections are formed between like-minded creatives, neighbors, and guests. “Unlike any other hotel, Kazerne offers guests an environment where they can experience, 24/7, how design adds value to the world in which we live,” says Geurts of the core inspiration for the project.
Geurts and Rijnbeek’s design studio Moon/en/co teamed up with Van Helmond Architecten to combine a complex of heritage buildings into a single space that embodies two unique visions: one of the past, the other of the future. The design team was tasked with reconstructing and restoring the six brick structures—with the oldest dating back to 1825—in a way that would honor the original architecture, while adding a few modern statements including a durable framework to support Kazerne’s new purpose. Informed by the past, present, and future of design, the hotel embodies a harmonious dialogue between hospitality and design. A tapestry of juxtaposition, the interiors are a fusion of exclusive and inclusive, of high-end and no nonsense, of dark and light, of old and new, of matt and gloss, with all of the rooms presenting textured surfaces, natural materials, and rich fabrics using a mainly black-and-white color palette. Featured design pieces by the likes of Kiki van Eijk, Daphna Laurens, and David Derksen represent the cultural zeitgeist.
The rooms and suites range from the 15 square meter Hidden Room, which is largely reserved for chefs and artists-in-residence as part of Kazerne’s cultural program, to the spectacular 140 square meter Penthouse Loft. Refreshingly singular in form, each of the guestrooms is structurally defined by the architectural narrative of its surroundings. Located in the former stable attic, the Hay Loft features original wooden beams and boarding, as well as a charming hatch overlooking the courtyard, while the Corner Duplex located in the former barracks features a unique historic-prison-cell-turned-pantry. Being part of the changing exhibitions throughout Kazerne, the art and design in the guestrooms is changed regularly, incorporating pieces from some of the Netherlands’ leading creatives.
Kazerne’s gastronomic ethos further serves to augment the connection between hospitality and design and is realized through two distinctive dining experiences. Forming part of the exhibition space, Bar/Restaurant Kazerne is a lively, industrial space serving robust, vegetable-centric dishes with an Italian touch. Restaurant Benz represents an intimate, fine dining experience with a Nordic touch, helmed by Swedish Head Chef Rasmus Olander. Key to the concept of both restaurants is the open-plan kitchen, which works to stimulate interaction and storytelling, a sentiment that is also the inspiration behind the communal Meet-up Table. The restaurants are physically connected by the central courtyard, a rare urban oasis amid Eindhoven’s modern architecture. Against a background of burned black wood cladding and lush greenery, the secluded patio consists of a seating area, pergola and outdoor kitchen that is a custom-made art piece by Joost van Bleiswijk.
Further kindling the sparks of meaningful interaction, hotel guests are gifted temporary membership to Kazerne’s Members Club, which includes use of the cozy, fireside living room on the first floor of the coach house. Inspiring and atmospheric, the Members Club serves as a creative melting pot in which new alliances are formed, and lovers of art, design, technology, and food can meet and engage in a diverse and inclusive creative sphere.
Location
With the internationally renowned Dutch Design Week and a world-famous design academy (DAE), Eindhoven is the design capital of the Netherlands. This bustling city has a constant flow of new developments in the fields of creativity, innovation, technology, design, and knowledge. Centrally located in Europe, Eindhoven is easily accessible via the local airport, and three further airports based in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Dusseldorf are all within an 1.5 hour drive. In the local area, guests can enjoy the contemporary art museum Van Abbemuseum, the Philips Museum, the hybrid exhibitions at MU artspace, and the workshop of Piet Hein Eek. And within 10 kilometers of the hotel, foodies will find three restaurants with two Michelin stars and four restaurants with one Michelin Star.
