Dutch architecture firm repurposes bridge keepers’ houses as hotel suites

The 28 suites collectively make up the SWEETS Hotel in Amsterdam.

Spotted: Dutch architecture firm Space & Matter has renovated unused canal-side bridge keepers’ houses and turned them into one-bedroom hotel suites available for rent. The 28 suites collectively make up the SWEETS Hotel in Amsterdam.

The bridge houses were all originally built along Amsterdam’s canals between 1673 and 2009. They were built to house the city’s bridge keepers, who needed to be available at all hours to open the bridges for passing water traffic. The houses stopped being used when bridge control became automated and centralised.

Many of the bridge houses are protected national monuments. Some of the houses, which could be as small as 12 meters squared, needed extensive work in order to fit in bathrooms and amenities like closets. Some have been adapted with space-saving techniques such as walls of shelves and integrated en-suites. Rooms start at around 120 EURO a night.

Each of the tiny houses has been decorated and renovated to reflect the history and architectural style of the time it was built. For example, the Amstelschutsluis bridge house, which was built in 1673, has been redecorated to include materials and colours that were used in 17th-century Holland. According to Space & Matter, visiting the bridge houses in chronological order reveals how the city developed and grew.

The SWEETS Hotel joins a growing number of hotels that use design to offer more than just a generic place to stay. Recent innovative hotel options covered by Springwise include a New York hotel located in an abandoned airport terminal and a 100 per cent plant-based hotel suite in London.