when we went to eindhoven for dutch design week recently, we decided to stay at the eye of the hurricane. the blue collar hotel is located in strijp-s, which is, with several fairs and exhibitions, one of the festival’s busiest areas. it is also a design highlight in itself. housed in the early 20th century klokgebouw, the former philite factory offered a fascinating starting point for a remodeling (winged, stunningly enough, in only a few months’ time) that proudly incorporates the building’s industrial past, e.g. in its top-floor restaurant, a former workspace which now boasts, as manager caroline meevis brags, “the ugliest lamps we could find”. to be honest, we loved most of them – as well as pretty much everything else about this one-of-a-kind place…