Leave it to Northern Europe to turn abandoned riverside cranes into functional and oh-so-stylish vacation rentals.
Last summer, Copenhagen unveiled The Krane. Not to be outdone, Amsterdam opened The Yays this past November, an electric blue, three-story crane apartment (or: three stacked shipping containers) situated over the city’s IJ River.
Renowned designer Edward van Vliet spearheaded the project, outfitting the 1957 Figee crane with two bedrooms, a modern kitchen, even a big ol’ tub. The space has massive industrial windows for healthy views of surrounding KNSM Island —a man-made island named for the Royal Dutch Steamboat Shipping Company, now replete with restaurants and indie shops — and really is an ideal example of the area’s heritage-hononoring, design-defying attitude.
Go book a crane. You’ve earned it.
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