Markthal

The spectacular covered market of Rotterdam is the work of MVRDV. The architectural firm of Rotterdam also designed the Dutch pavilion at the Expo in Hannover. The market hall was built on historic ground, here was the place, where the settlement "Rotta" evolved and later became the city of Rotterdam. The building opened in 2014 is  a residential building from the outside with 228 residential units and a covered market inside. The colorful ceiling design was created by Arno Coenen. 4,000 glass panels form a 11,000 square foot ceiling painting, titled "Horn of Overvloeds" (Cornucopia). In the basement there is a supermarket and a large parking garage.

 

Grotemarkt

www.mvrdv.nl

 

Timmerhuis

The "Timmerhuis" was designed by Rem Koolhaas, the Rotterdam-based architectural firm OMA, responsible for the design was Reinier de Graaf. He designed a modular steel structure that is suspended from two building cores. The "Timmerhuis" houses the city administration of Rotterdam, 84 apartments, the Rotterdam Museum and shops. The new building of OMA stands at an L-shaped existing building from 1954. The new building, opened in 2015, stands at a different angle to the old building due to the road grid and forms a joint, which can be recognized in the interior. The new building made of glass and steel creates a strong contrast to the existing structure, due to material and form. As in the Casa de Musica in Porto, the strict façade is loosened by vaulted glass elements. The steel construction consists of modules that float like a gray-blue cloud above the old building. On the ground floor, there is a passage through the building. There is a large atrium at the main entrance of the city administration.

 

Rodezand 26

 

De Rotterdam

The 2013 opened Towercomplex "De Rotterdam" by famous architect Rem Koolhaas (OMA) is located at "Kop van Zuid". The three 150 m high towers are slightly displaced in the middle and stand directly at the riverfront of the Maas. In West Tower houses 240 apartments, the Mid Tower used for officespace, while the East Tower is a hotel with 278 rooms and office space on top. In 25 m high basement pedestal restaurants and shops are located. The building stands on 1,100 pillars to support the weight of 230,000 t.

 

Wilhelminakade 177

www.derotterdam.nl

 

Centraal Station Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Central Station was rebuilt by Benthem Crouwel Architects between 2007 and 2014. The soaring entrance hall points towards the city center. The tracks are spanned by a glass hall.

Other buildings by Benthem Crouwel Architects:

Stedelijk Museum   Den Haag Central Station   Bergbaumuseum Bochum

 

Stationsplein

http://benthemcrouwel.com

 

Calypso

The residential building "Calypso" of the British architect William Alsop, was completed in 2013. The complex consists of a red and a white residential tower, with a total of 407 apartments. There are restaurants in the basementand and next to the main building, the new "Pauluskerk" was built.

 

Mauritsweg 6

 

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Schiecentrale 4B

Mei architects built a complex with freely divisible, residential and work units. Remarkable are the brown storage boxes made of polyester, which protrude from the steel fabric facade. The building was inaugurated in 2011.

 

Schiehavenkade

http://mei-arch.eu

 

Jobsveem

The historic warehouse of 1913 was transformed by Mei architects into a loft building. The loading platforms became large balconies for the residents. The apartments could be arranged freely on the floor plan, because the loads are borne by cast-iron columns. The stairs and elevators are situated in a spacious atrium.

 

Lloydstraat 138

 

Unilever Building

The Unilever office building rises 25 meters above the quayside and offers a spectacular view of the Rotterdam skyline. The core with stairs and lifts is situated in the middle of the building . The Unilever building was designed by JHK architets from Utrecht and was opened in 2007.

 

Nassaustraat

www.jhk.nl

 

Shipping & Transport College

The "School of Shipping and Transportation" byNeutelings Riedijk architects has set a striking building on the river. The 70 m high tower was opened in 2005. The lecture hall is located in the top of the tower and protrudes towards the harbor.

 

Lloydstraat

 

New Luxor Theater

The red "New Luxor Theater" is in Kop van Zuid, at the end of the Erasmus Bridge. The expressive theater was designed in 1996 by the German architects Bolles + Wilson. In 2001 the Luxor Theater opened.

Other Bolles + Wilson buildings:

Cinnamon Tower Hamburg

 

Posthumalaan 1

www.luxortheater.nl

 

Erasmusbrug

The Erasmus Bridge was built in 1996 and connects the center of Rotterdam with the Feijennoord district. The 802 m long suspension bridge over the Nieuwe Maas was designed by Ben van Berkel UNStudio. The cables hang on a 139 m high pylon. The bridge can be folded up behind the pylon. Because of its white color and elegant shape, the bridge is also called De Zwaan (The Swan).

Other buildings by Ben van Berkel:

Fraunhofer Institut Stuttgart    Mercedes-Benz Museum

 

Erasmus Brug

 

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Schowburgplein

The "Schowburgplein" is a square in the center of Rotterdam, where theaters and cinemas are located. The square was designed by the landscape planners of West 8 in 1996. The crane like, red steel lights move slowly back and forth.

 

Schowburgplein

 

Blaak Station

When the railway line was displaced into a tunnel, this new subway station was built in 1993. The architect Harry Reijnders designed a pane of steel and transparent plastic panels, which is held by a white truss arch.

 

Blaak 2

 

Kunsthal Rotterdam

The exhibition hall was built in 1992 by Rem Koolhaas of OMA. In addition to the exhibition areas, the building offers an auditorium and a restaurant. An open passage runs through the building that leads to the museum park, where the "billboard" rises up, announcing the exhibitions. The Kunsthalle Rotterdam became known worldwide through the use of unusual materials such as tree trunks, plastic and asphalt.

 

Westzeedijk 341

http://oma.eu

 

Nationale Nederlande

On the square in front of the main station stands the 151 m high "Gebouw Delftse Poort 1" opened in 1991. The office building of the National Insurance Company was for a long time, the tallest building in Rotterdam. In 2010 it was surpassed by the 165 m high "Maastoren". The smaller "Delftse Poort 2" in the foreground is 93 m high. The architect of the two high-rise buildings was Abe Bonnema.

 

Stationsplein

 

Cube houses

The 51 "Cube houses" of Piet Blom emerged in 1984. Piet Blom was a representative of the structuralism, in which the form can be filled with values and contents, but can also take on other meanings through a new user without changing it's appearance. The shape of the building affects the user and vice versa. The houses are a reminiscent of a tree, with staircase as trunk and dwellings as a treetop. One tree house is a museum.

 

Blaak

 

Café De Unie

The "Café De Unie" of Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud and his colleague Théo van Doesburg was opened in 1925 at the Calandplein. The architectural icon was destroyed by german boms in 1940. In 1986 Carel Weeber rebuilt the façade of the famous House. Since the original place was already rebuilt, the new "Café De Unie" was built at Mauritsweg. The original building stood between classicist buildings and looked like a modern parasite surrounded by antiquity.

 

Mauritsweg 35

 

Meelfabriek Latenstein

The cereal mill by Johannes J.M. Vegter (architect) and Arthur Aronson (engineer) was built in 1952. The straightforward factory architecture became a Rijksmonument in 2011. Today the plant belongs to the food and feed producer Codrico.

 

Rijnhaven Zuidzijde

 

Van Nelle Fabriek

The Van Nelle factory was honored in 2014 as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The coffee and tobacco factory was built in 1930 and was the most advanced building of its kind. Very innovative where the facade of glass elements (curtain wall) by the architects Brinkman and Van der Vlugt. This type of glass curtain wall was used at the Bauhaus in Dessau as early as 1925. However, the Van Nelle factory was the first large industrial building to use this technology.

 

Van Nelleweg 1

 

Map Architecture in Rotterdam

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Rotterdam Guide

Architecture guide Rotterdam

After the historic center of Rotterdam was destroyed in World War II, the urban planners decided to built a new city. Rotterdam has thus become a field of experimentation for modern architecture. Rotterdam is one of the few cities in Europe that had skyscrapers built in the historic city. Only in Frankfurt and London there are more skyscrapers in the city center. 

 

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