Canals, windmills and gable end houses. That’s springs to mind when you think about Dutch architecture. Think again. Rotterdam is not your typical Dutch city. Glossy, quirky buildings are everywhere you look. Many of them embody the New Dutch style of architecture and design. Come with me and discover some of Rotterdam’s most amazing modern buildings.
I was a guest of Visit Netherlands on my discovery of New Dutch design.
Rotterdam in Europe’s biggest port. All that shipping and industry attracted German bombs. On 14 May 1940 a 15 minute bomb raid destroyed most of central of Rotterdam. 900 people were killed and 85,000 homes destroyed. After the war rebuilding began, it was all wide boulevards with commerce in the middle and people on the edge. Now that centre needs tweaking for the 21st century and New Dutch Design is being deployed.
Table of Contents
What is New Dutch?
OK I’ve had quite a lot of starts on this paragraph. All them a bit gloopy. Essentially New Dutch is joined up thinking. It looks at the project as a whole. What does the City/Country need? Great design, of course. Energy efficient. Greening spaces to cut run off and reduce heat. Solar panels. Multi-purpose, can a project answer lots of problems not just the headline one. Does that make sense? For more information take a look at The Visit Netherlands website.
Amazing Modern Buildings to See in Rotterdam
Most of the buildings mentioned are brand new and shining examples of New Dutch. Some are included just because I really loved them and think you will too. I walked this route from the with pit stops for coffee and lunch at the Depot cafe and the Markthal.
Rotterdam Centraal Station
We’ll start with Rotterdam Centraal Station. Eurostar trains can whisk you here in three and a half hours from London. Trains kept on rumbling through the station all during the 7 year development. All that remains of the old station is the lettering and the station clock. The new steel clad building visually stunning. On its roof are largely made near transparent solar panels helping the power the station.
Pauluskerk
Yes, it is a church. My Maths teacher believed in learning by doing. So we made a giant dome of triangles in the middle of the playground. I’m still not sure what aspect of Maths we were learning. Architect Will Alsop deployed the triangle building theory with aplomb when he designed the Pauluskerk. Opened in 2013 the church is non denominational and supports those in need. Take a look at the buildings right next to the church, also by Will Alsop and known as De Calypso.
Modernism in the Museumpark
Not modern, in the sense that the buildings date from the first half of the twentieth century. But definitely Modernist. There is a clutch of gorgeous white curved but blocky modernist buildings on the edge of the museum park. You can go inside two of them. The Sonneveld House inside is furnished in 1930s Modernist style. It was designed by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt who also designed the UNESCO listed Van Nelle factory in the outskirts of Rotterdam. In the Chabot Museum you will find a collection of Henk Chabot’s work.
Depot Boijmans
Depot Boijmans is an incredible building inside and out and New Dutch to its fingertips. Opened in 2020 its exterior is a mirror walled bowl with trees growing on top. Inside it is the first fully accessible museum depot in the world. Did you know that most museum’s only display less 10% of their collections. he rest is kept in storage. Depot Boijmans is the store for the neighbouring Boijmans Museum and you go in to see the collections. Up on the roof there are trees and an excellent cafe. Architects MVRDV have sought to reduce the Depot’s water and power consumption. In the bits you can’t see. There is a geothermal heat exchange system. Solar panels and LED lighting. Really good insulation and rainwater is stored in the basement to be used to water the trees or in toilets.
- Depot Boijmans, Museumpark
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 5pm
- Admission: Adults €20
Markthal
There has been an open air food market at Rotterdam’s Binnenrotte for centuries. At the beginning of this century there was a need for an indoor market too. Coupled with that there was also a need for new housing and car parking. MVDRV came up with a neat solution that includes all of those, the only site in Europe to do so. Inside the arch of the market hall is covered with a beautiful mural. Because this is a New Dutch building it includes many sustainable features. It is naturally ventilated, air flows in under the glass and exits via vents in the roof. It is connected to the city heating and thermal system and has extremely effective insulation.
Cube Houses
Not New Dutch but very cute. Right next door to the Markthal. Piet Blom didn’t want his new houses to look like any other houses. He succeeded. Bright yellow cubes at crazy angles rest on hexagonal platforms. If you fancy seeing it is like to sleep in a skewed cube you can, some the cubes house a Stayokay Youth Hostel.
Erasmus Bridge
Admiring the Erasmus Bridge from afar is good but by far the best way to see the bridge is to walk over it. Opened in 1996 the Erasmus Bridge connects the north and south of the city. Locals call the bridge the swan. Bridge designers marvel at the cable stayed bascule style.
De Rotterdam
De Rotterdam overlooks the Erasmus Bridge. Designed by Dutch superstar architect Rem Koolhaas and his OMA practice. De Rotterdam is three interconnected buildings conceived as a vertical city. Inside there are flats, workspaces and an hotel.
Fenix
When you raise the roof level of an old building in Rotterdam you have to create something eye catching not merely a box on top of an old building. At Fenix, the brand new museum of migration, what was once a the world’s largest transhipment warehouse has been transformed. Ma Yansong, has added a stainless steel Tornado that swirls from the ground floor up through the roof. It not only looks extraordinary but offers great views and endless mirror selfie opportunities.
Rotterdam New Dutch Designs yet to come
Another big change in the last 70 years is the size of ships, they have got bigger. Much bigger. To accommodate the new supersize tankers Rotterdam has moved her port down toward the mouth of the delta leaving a slew of now empty docks and warehouses waiting to be redeveloped.
Rijnhaven
Work has begun on the Rijnhaven. One third of the dock has been filled in. Work will soon start on three buildings that will provide new housing, shops, workspaces and restaurants. In front of the buildings a new park will appear. Not just any old park with grass and some benches. There will be grass but also a beach complete with swimming.
Fotomuseum
Just next to the Rijnhavn a former coffee warehouse is being converted to house the Fotomusuem. Planning rules say that any addition in height has to be in a completely different style. Here a golden crown now tops the building. Up in the crown will offices, a cafe and apartments. One of them will be available as a holiday let, everything Cultural Wednesday wants in a holiday let! The new Fotomuseum is due to open in 2025.
Hofbogen park
Back on the other side of the Maas a former railway line is being repurposed as an urban park. Like the Highline in New York but with added environmental touches. The Hofbogen park will be accessible to animal as well as humans to create a full ecosystem. Rainfall will be captured and filtered by flower beds. At the moment the Hofbogen area doesn’t have much green space, the new park will create a ribbon of green through out the area.
Tidal Park Keilehaven
Further down the river there are yet more empty docks. There are big plans. One sees the river becoming a tidal park with plants and animals encourage back what are now quite sterile spaces. Tidal Park Keilehaven is first step along the way. A beach has been created and sloping sides rather than the vertical
New Dutch beyond Rotterdam
New Dutch is not confined to Rotterdam. Up in Flevoland, the Netherlands newest province, New Dutch is providing stylish answers.
Almere
Almere is younger than I am. Initially development focussed on housing rather things like theatres that build community. At the end of the last century Rem Koolhass and OMA (them again) came up with a plan that not only provided new communal buildings but a layered town centre. Cars are bottom layer. Rubbish is sucked down chutes to a central place. Above pedestrians can stroll car free, among the shops and restaurants. Higher still are flats with gardens on the roofs.
Marker Wadden
A little bit of Dutch land reclamation history. In 1932 the Afsluitdijk was built cutting the Zuiderzee from the North Sea and creating the Ijesselmeer. Work began on creating new land or polders, it was initially intended that most of of the new lake would eventually be land. In 1976 Markerwaarddijk was built cutting the new lake in half. Creating the Markermeer which it was intended would become land, that never happened. Overtime the Markermeer has become clogged with silt, blocking out light and causing an ecosystem crash. This was a problem that called for New Dutch joined up thinking.
It was decided to create islands out of the silt. Once created these islands will act as a kind of filter catching new silt as it flows into the lake. As the water clears fish will return. Even better the new islands will act an a new habitat for birds. You can visit the islands and even stay overnight. Walking across the dunes it is hard to believe that they didn’t exist a decade ago.
You can read more about Almere and the Markerwadden in my post Seven Things to Do in Flevoland. Crossing the Afsluitdijk had been on my list since I learnt about in Geography when I was 12, read about our Aflsluitdijk visit here. New Dutch joined up thinking is also being deployed with aplomb in Eindhoven once home to the Phillips factory and now reinventing itself, read more about Eindhoven in my post about Brabant.
