Theater Zuidplein
Theater Zuidplein a new cultural hotspot of Rotterdam Zuid Programme: theatre, library, restaurant The southern part of Rotterdam is a high-density residential area. Its profile is one of cultural diversity, lower-income households, unequal opportunities and a scarcity of cultural amenities. The Zuidplein Theatre is part of 'Hart van Zuid', an area-wide PPP development around the Zuidplein and Ahoy locations. The new building replaces the outdated theatre built in 1953. The brief was to create an accessible building where local residents could meet, gain knowledge and share experiences. Theater Zuidplein is a clear, compact volume of about 12,500 m². For acoustic reasons, the two auditoriums are positioned furthest away from the residential areas. Here, the building appears enclosed and intimate with a sturdy masonry facade highlighted by distinctive vertical niches. The unique finish gives the brick façade depth and detail. A semi-transparent anodised aluminum veil drapes delicately over the entrance and lobby. The building connects to the public space in several ways: The benches constructed against the façade allow passersby to sit 'on' the building. The stage has three windows. It allows you to look outside from the stage. But you can also sneak a peek at the stage from outside. If a band is playing here or there's a festival, you can open the window shutters and let people look in. Thus, a connection is made between the public area and the heart of the theatre, the stage The loft-like foyer is the heart of the building All functions have a direct or indirect connection to this hall, where there is much to discover and to do. The semitransparent voile façade at the entrance and the foyer, made of aluminium, provides a special play of light in the interior during the day and a festive and inviting atmosphere at night. The library welcomes everyone from the community, offering a wide range programme. The theatre’s diverse programming often reflects what’s happening in the community, city and region. Together with the café/restaurant, which is open every day, the venue plays an important role in the social fabric of Rotterdam-Zuid. The 600-seat main auditorium has a distinctive feature. An acoustic wall seemingly embraces the audience and performing artists in one fluid gesture. The design is crafted from 6,000 different triangular aluminium composite panels – an unexpected choice of material for a theatre. Algorithms calculated the positioning of the triangular panels to create excellent acoustics in the theatre without the need for soundproofing materials. Alongside serving an acoustic function, the red walls also refract the light, resulting in a dynamic yet subtle and warm play of colour.
Fenix
Fenix is MAD’s first completed cultural project in Europe, an reimagining a century-old harbor warehouse into a contemporary museum devoted to the theme of migration. Located on Rotterdam’s Katendrecht Peninsula, once a vital departure point for millions of migrants and home to continental Europe’s oldest Chinatown, the 16,000-square-meter structure reopens as a layered public space that fuses memory, movement, and modernity. MAD’s design retains the industrial strength of the original 1923 warehouse while introducing a powerful sculptural gesture: a stainless steel “Tornado” staircase that spirals up from the central atrium and rises through the roof to a panoramic platform. Hovering above the city and reflecting the sky, river, city and visitors, the helix-shaped double stair evokes the emotional turbulence and dynamic flows of migration. It offers not only circulation, but metaphor—serving as a visible expression of transition, movement, and connection. Preservation and invention coexist throughout. The original concrete frame and signature green steel windows were restored, while glass curtain walls and skylights flood the atrium with natural light. Non-structural partitions were removed to enhance transparency and flow. On either side of the atrium, flexible exhibition wings now house a diverse collection ranging from historical artifacts to contemporary works commissioned from global artists. A green roof above supports biodiversity and environmental performance; below, a 2,275-square-meter indoor plaza known as Plein offers free public access and space for cultural programming. Fenix’s architecture challenges the notion of a static museum. Instead, it operates as an active civic landmark—open, visible, and emotionally resonant. As Ma Yansong describes it, the building reflects “flowing space, atmosphere, people; stories and art centered on movement.” Through its transformative design, MAD reconnects a site of historical departure with a future of collective memory and cross-cultural dialogue.
SAWA
SAWA: a revolutionary wooden residential building in the heart of the Lloydquarter in Rotterdam. Exceptional to SAWA is that the building will be built entirely in CLT (cross-laminated timber) and is therefore the first fully wooden residential building of 50 meters high in Rotterdam. In addition, the building is distinguished by the generous green terraces, with which the building enhances the biodiversity of the neighborhood. SAWA will provide a unique icon to Rotterdam, that represents a new generation of buildings. Building in CLT In the context of the European Green Deal, UN Sustainable Development Goals and objectives of the municipality of Rotterdam to reduce CO2 emissions, the client and architect share the ambition to fully execute the building, including the main support structure, in CLT. There are multiple advantages of building in CLT: In addition to the fact that it storages CO2 and reduces emissions, construction time will be shorter compared to concrete construction and living comfort will increase. SAWA will be an exemplary project for new generations, an important step in the sustainability objectives and tangible evidence that things can be done differently. Biodiversity Dutch cities continue to grow and experience increasing pressure. The consequences of this urbanization on the human ecosystem - eg flooding, heat stress and increasing CO2 emissions - are becoming increasingly noticeable. At the same time, the habitat of birds, bees and butterflies is being considerably limited by increasing urbanization and mineralization of the landscape. With the design for SAWA, Mei commits to changing this evolution and contribute to a healthy living environment. In collaboration with city ecologists, SAWA is designed in a way in which vegetation is integrated into balconies, terraces and decks, thus increasing the biodiversity of the neighborhood. SAWA The Lloydquarter has a rich maritime history, dating back to around 1900. The Lloyd Pier owes its name to the Rotterdamsche Lloyd shipping company, that built a terminal on the pier from which its passenger ships departed to the east of the world. The SAWA building owes its name to the trampled form with generous green terraces, as a reference to Eastern rice fields and the history of the place. Shared values SAWA is being developed in the heart of the Lloydquarter area and will, partly because of this central location, provide added value to the neighborhood by creating meeting areas and by connecting with existing local initiatives. Various facilities will be added to the ground floor of the building and the green deck will function as a green connector between building and surrounding area (such as the communal garden) and add value for both residents and neighbours. The program comprises approximately 100 dwellings, of which 50 rental apartments in the modal segment, making it possible for people with indispensable professions (police officers, teachers, nurses, etc.) to remain in the city. This living concept is enriched by various shared functions - such as shared mobility, tools and a vegetable garden – therewith stimulating a lively and caring community.
Floating Office Rotterdam
Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR) A Vessel for Change Moored at Rijnhaven port in Rotterdam, our floating office for the Global Center on Adaptation is a building for a new age. Off-grid and carbon-neutral, it will float – rather than flood – if water levels rise due to climate change. Fun as well as functional, it also forms a key element in a newly redeveloped port environment by providing public waterside space – and even a swimming pool. Revitalizing the Harbor FOR is part of a larger regeneration of Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven, formerly one of the of city’s busiest harbors. The revitalizing of now disused former industrial land will pave the way for a vibrant, lively new city center. In the wake of the departed harbor industry, the Floating Office plays an important role in reactivating the streetscape with public facilities full of bustling activity – a restaurant with a large outdoor terrace and a swimming pool. In addition to creating a desirable workplace, these features will draw footfall to the area and breathe new life into the harbor. Embodying Our Client’s Mission We designed the floating office to reflect the values of its inhabitants: the Global Center on Adaptation. This Rotterdam-based NGO chaired by Ban Ki-moon aims at promoting planning, investment and technology to mitigate climate change. The climate-resilient office is both an illustration of the center’s mission and sets an example for how sustainable construction is possible. Healthy Workspace The naturally breathable cross-laminated timber construction contributes to a healthy air quality that maximizes occupant comfort and health. To boost well-being even further, the natural warmth and calm of the wood is left exposed inside – studies have shown interiors with high proportions of wood surfaces reduce stress, improve concentration, and help people to find their workplace more inviting and energizing. This connection to natural elements is heightened by the floor to ceiling windows full of natural light that look out to green landscaping, including trees planted on FOR’s deck. Spacious terraces and balconies wrap around the building to provide plenty of ventilation and fresh air that continue to raise the health of FOR’s users. Surrounded by water, people at work enjoy amazing views from the gigantic windows and access to decks for eating, drinking, and relaxing. To encourage movement, a large sculptural staircase is placed at the heart of the building, stimulating people to take the stairs rather that the elevator. Responding to the Climate Crisis FOR makes use of natural energy thanks to 800 square meters of solar panels, making it completely off-grid and self-sufficient. Using water from the Rijnhaven harbor, it utilizes a water-based heat-exchange system, while overhanging balconies will provide shade. We greatly reduced FOR’s carbon footprint by constructing it completely out of timber, allowing it to be completely carbon-neutral. The interior structure is an open grid that allows for flexible uses. FOR has been designed for the future – built for disassembly, it’s completely reusable and recyclable. In response to changing water levels due to climate change, FOR adapts by staying afloat.
New Orleans (Rotterdam)
Residential skyscraper in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
KPN Tower
Office building at Wilhelminaplein, Kop van Zuid, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is the first publicly accessible art storage facility in the world. The brief was to design a building that would be as inviting as possible, where all different target groups would feel welcome. It was emphatically not to become a second museum, where only a small percentage of the collection can be exhibited, but an engine room that reveals the world behind the storage and maintenance of a dazzling number of art and design works. Visiting the depot offers a completely new experience: the art is arranged according to size and climate requirements, not art history periods. Old and contemporary works are juxtaposed, inviting new connections to be made. The MVRDV design team, led by architect and urban planner Winy Maas, opted for a round, sturdy, functional building that does not turn its back on its neighbours, instead establishing a new relationship with both the Museumpark and the city of Rotterdam. The ambition was to create a building that seems to disappear into its surroundings, but at the same time is a safe house for the collection, which is worth billions. The depot owes its shape to the desire to give the building a relatively small footprint. As a result, the building takes up less space in the park, but curves upwards with a 10-metre overhang to accommodate the entire programme – storage spaces, restoration studios, catering facilities, and film and presentation rooms. The building has five climate zones to accommodate the most delicate art, from prints and paintings to photography. The mirrored façade, consisting of 6,609m2 of glass divided into 1,664 panels, ensures that the building visually blends into its surroundings. The large entrance doors merge into the façade and only become visible during opening hours, when the façade opens up like a gadget out of a James Bond film. Every day – depending on weather conditions – the depot looks different, like a living painting. Inside, the most eye-catching part of the building is the atrium, with its criss-crossing staircases and windows into the storage spaces that give the impression of a panopticon, with a view of the art from all sides. Thirteen large display cases ensure that the visitor comes into contact with a collage of collection pieces as soon as they enter the building. The depot is also an experiment in adding nature to the city. This takes place in the form of the 35-metre-high rooftop forest, which was awarded the prize for the best Dutch roof even before it opened. The 75 birches, grasses and 20 pines placed on the roof help retain water, promote biodiversity, and reduce heat stress in the city. The trees for this project were prepared for their new home for three years in a nursery. Their roots are interconnected and, because the windbreak and the cross-shaped restaurant on the roof protect the birches from strong winds, they will be able to withstand stormy weather even at a height of 35 metres.
POST Rotterdam
Located in Rotterdam’s bustling center, this historically important building was built in 1916, and it was one of the only original structures still standing after Rotterdam Blitz, the aerial bombardment that in 1940 leveled nearly all of the city. The new 150-meter POST tower will rise towards the rear of the Postkantoor and straddle the existing open courtyard, on the new Rodezand wing. The vaulted plinth of the tower will greatly enhance the experience of the courtyard, coupling it with the Great Hall of the Postkantoor. In a subtle nod to context, ODA mirrors the rhythm of five-foot spacing between columns on the Postkantoor’s facade in a stone grid that defines the tower. Designed with nonpareil windows, the POST tower shows openings that vary in size and shape to funnel daylight. This variety sets a break from the series of glass-facade towers along the new Rotterdam skyline and celebrates the elegance of the main hall along its profile. At the street level, the majestic Great Hall — a vaulted, 1916 marvel soaring 22.5 meters (almost 74 feet) in height — will undergo a faithful restoration to serve as the project’s public heart. A new entrance on Rodezand will render the hall accessible from all sides and will connect with the building’s back courtyard to form a sweeping passageway. Throughout the hall and courtyard space, a slew of public amenities — in the form retail, galleries, restaurants, and cafes, many with open sight lines to Coolsingel will add up to the city’s pedestrian experience.
Penthouse West399
Discovering opportunities The architects saw huge potential in the neglected 1968 design by J.W.C. Boks and set their hearts on transforming it. With an eye to living at the top of the building, with its wonderful views of the Rotterdam skyline, the couple bought and converted the structure into a sleek residential building with their spectacular family penthouse. An adventurous home During the renovation, the original beauty of the interior was revealed, complete with lofty high ceilings, round columns and mahogany-framed strip windows. The exceptionally rich palette of materials was restored to its former glory: warm brickwork outside, with slate, travertine and solid hardwood inside. Rich materials and high-quality detailing similarly define the penthouse apartment comprising a one-layer new-build glass-box on the roof surrounded by a roof-garden and a portion of the existing building below that roots it in the original structure. Framing the view The two floors are linked by a spiral staircase, leading to the glass-walled living room with jaw-dropping views of the city of Rotterdam. The penthouse façade is the largest load-bearing glass façade in north-west Europe. Its roof is anchored by steel cables concealed in the joints between the glass sections. The glass is set at an oblique angle for strength enhancement. A generous overhang provides shade. Inspired by its post-war architecture The indoor spaces, behind a travertine façade, offer greater intimacy. American walnut covers the music room and features a large circular window with views over the harbor. The kitchen palette of materials is sumptuous with mahogany wood, red travertine, matt gold resin and green serpentine stone. The bathroom is entirely covered in travertine. The lower level, in the original building, the three children’s rooms are treated as autonomous furniture in space, clad in American walnut. The carefully curated artworks create an integrated experience of space.
Upfield office and production
Unilever has split off the margarine and spread department that will continue as an independent company called Upfield. The new company will bring together all its Rotterdam activities on one site. Offices, Research & Development, Logistics and production will happen in one building complex. The ground floors of the site are in use as factories for different products, logistics areas and warehouses. The upper floors are unused or underused. In this project we investigated how and which building parts could be reused for the new office and meeting programs. Two projects are realized up till now: the Becelhuis(2018) and the Attic & Villa(2019). New Way Of Working All interventions represent the companies ambition to work differently. Next to a large number of workstations, different types of formal and informal meeting rooms are realized. Because of the special kind of work Upfield does, also kitchens and tasting counters are part of the program. The aim was to create a creative and dynamic workspace by activating the standard office program with a mix of informal and formal meeting rooms. The workplaces become fully flexible, which fits a contemporary agile working environment. Identity & Character The designs for both Attic and Becelhuis represent the new identity of the new company Upfield within the historical context in Rotterdam. The interiors are designed in close collaboration with the company’s representatives, in this way it aims to represent the ambition for the future of Upfield. Materialization, concepts of working, furniture and green are examples of this. Attic & Villa The office space for Attic is located on the attic floor of the oldest factory building on the site. As a result, the building has historical qualities. In order to realize a contemporary landscape office, several interventions have been made. First of all, a number of walls without historical value have been demolished, this creates more possibilities for redesign. The meeting rooms have been designed as furniture pieces with functions like telephone booths, repro spaces, product displays and space for technical installations integrated in the walls. In this way, the space is divided into different zones, each with its own character. The different floors of the villa and the attic are connected by a void, the double wooden gable roof is now visible from different floors. Finally, a part of the tiled roof has been replaced with glass. The new workplaces are therefore provided with light and have a view over the river Maas. Sustainability Sustainability has been a main issue during the design process. Through intensive reuse and transformation, the building use has been optimized. The various interventions in the existing, the intensive renovation of the buildings exteriors and the new interventions in the interiors will extend the life of the buildings. The buildings continue theirs life with a new layer of character added to the historical layers. Status: Attic & Villa completed 2019 Size: 3000 m² Client: Upfield R&D Office (Rotterdam) Location: Nassaukade, 3071 JL Rotterdam, NL.
ZOHO
ZOHO Rotterdam will become a new creative district where not only existing local businesses and a community of creative professionals, but also a mix in new neighborhood residents can flourish; The winning project of the ZoHo tender in Rotterdam's creative district is bound to set new standards for urban living and working. It is designed to be a strong socially inclusive neighborhood. ZoHo is an area adjacent to Rotterdam’s CBD and Agniese district. In the past decade, creative professionals have turned a brownfield into a lively creative district. This low-rise business area with its own identity needs to be transformed into a mixed neighborhood to meet the city's urgent densification challenges. Densification with identity preservation In our winning design we have identified space to accommodate multiple ambitions and withstand long-term development. We have built upon what is already there: a strong community of creative professionals working in studios and workshops. We add new layers to keep this creative population in the area and are able to allocate residential space for a mixed population. We strive to keep social and middle class in the city. Stacking and intertwining ambitions We stack three habitats: lab, land(scape) and city. Where a mix in housing (from social to privately owned, from micro-apartments to townhouses where studio and living space is combined) is spread across the levels. The main thought behind the plan is that we don't just stack different layers, but intertwine layers by adding collective spaces for social cohesion. With the rooftop park as the most visible and defining feature. Climate adaptation in a sponge city The elevated moor park makes this design climate adaptive, as the area is prone to flooding after downpours. It is a little sponge city with an underground reservoir and irrigation system for extreme draught in summertime. A unique climate adaptive concept that does not have to be connected to the sewer system. Social inclusion by configuration Social inclusion and cohesion is created by a mix in typologies and social housing, work spaces, collective spaces and in the way these are configured. We have reused existing plot sizes and all components can be (re)built separately in time. With this set-up we are able to accommodate the current (creative) entrepreneurs in affordable workspaces during and after the development of the new ZoHo. We have added a shared mobility hub on a large scale with cars, bikes and scooters. Collective spaces that contribute to social cohesion – including the rooftop park, a ‘living room’ and a sports facility can be found within the three habitats and are accessible for all existing and new ZoHo residents, as well as the neighboring Agniese district. Mix use and high diversity We are building on ZOHO’s current identity. When curating the interpretation of the various functions, we therefore explicitly look at how parties underline, propagate or reinforce the DNA. We bring balance to the program through a complementary mix of functions. Each program has therefore distinctive character and added value for the Zomerhofkwartier.
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Open in Atlas MapFrequently Asked Questions
How long does the Rotterdam architecture walking tour take?+
The self-guided walking tour covers approximately 5.4 km with 9 stops. Allow approximately 4 hours including 20 minutes of viewing time per building.
Is the Rotterdam architecture tour free?+
Yes, this is a completely free self-guided walking tour. You can view the route on the interactive map, export it to Google Maps for navigation, and explore at your own pace.
Do I need to book the Rotterdam architecture tour in advance?+
No booking is required — this is a self-guided tour that you can start at any time. All buildings can be viewed from the outside. For guided tours with expert commentary, we recommend checking GetYourGuide for local architecture tours.
What is the best time to do the Rotterdam architecture walking tour?+
Morning light (before 11am) is ideal for photography of building facades. Weekdays tend to be less crowded around commercial buildings. Allow a full half day for the complete tour.