The city of Rotterdam has approved the Bluezone Offices, a 47,000-sq-m development that its architect MVRDV says is the biggest commercial building currently set for construction in the Netherlands.
The 61m-tall and 150m-long structure will go up on a narrow slice of land close to a railway line in the Schiekadeblok, one of Rotterdam’s post-war reconstruction areas.
It will have a variety of commercial spaces on the ground floor and a restaurant and event space on higher levels.
Developed by LSI, the building will be divided horizontally into four sections, each with a defined plinth level and one or two blocks above, creating 11 distinct segments.
Several of the top blocks will be carved to allow the sun to shine on structures located on the other side of the railway without casting shadows.
Each block combines a fenestration pattern and colour inspired by Rotterdam’s historic buildings, such as bay windows inspired by western Rotterdam’s Huig Maaskant-designed Citrusveiling and octagonal shapes referencing the façade of the nearby Hofplein 19.
Two of the 11 blocks will be made from recycled material. Three exteriors will integrate photovoltaic panels.
‘Second reconstruction’
De Vries & Verburg are acting as the project’s contractor.
Winy Maas, MVRDV founder, said: “Squeezing a building in this narrow space next to the railway was a tough challenge – not to mention the complexity of building around a National Monument with the Wokkelbar.”
He said the building would be “a colourful addition to the city”.
“This is how people will see Rotterdam when arriving by train: diverse, bright, and bold. And in its boldness it is a call to action for the future of Rotterdam – from the ‘wederopbouw’, the reconstruction, we must shift to the ‘tweederopbouw’, the second reconstruction.”
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