![De rotterdam in aanbouw juni 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/De_rotterdam_in_aanbouw_juni_2012.JPG)
De Rotterdam is a building on the
Wilhelminapier in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, designed by the
Office for Metropolitan Architecture
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international architectural firm with offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. The firm is currently led by eight partners - Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van ...
in 1998. The complex is located between the
KPN Tower and
Rotterdam Cruise Terminal
The Rotterdam Cruise Terminal is a building on the Wilhelmina Pier, Rotterdam.
The Cruise Terminal served as the arrival and departure point of Holland America Line and is considered part of the city’s social and industrial heritage. The Cru ...
and was finalized at the end of 2013. On 21 November 2013, the municipality of Rotterdam, as the largest user, received the keys. The design provides space for offices, a hotel and apartments. The 44 floors amount to a total floor space area of about 160,000 m², making it the largest building in the Netherlands.
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Realisation
Construction began in 2009, when the municipality committed itself to hire 25,000 m² of the office space. The highest point (at 149 meters) was reached at the end of 2012, and the building was ready on its scheduled date of 15 November 2013.[De Rotterdam]
top010.nl. Retrieved on 28 November 2013[De Rotterdam]
, Kopvanzuid.info. The total cost at the start of construction in 2009 was estimated to be €340,000,000.
Appearance and construction
Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a re ...
, who once considered a career in film, reasoned that the most frequent view of these structures would be in motion, from the window of a car.[ As the view changes, the towers, rising from a shared six-story plinth, separate and then merge.] The building consists of three interconnected towers that share a thirty feet high base which includes six floors.[De Rotterdam: Verticale stad van Rem Koolhaas op hoogste punt]
OVG Real Estate. Retrieved on 18 November 2013. The lower two layers form a large glass plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...
. At about 90 meters above ground the towers – known as West Tower, Mid Tower and East Tower– are shifted a few meters in different directions, which enhances the wind stability
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
and provides space for terraces. In the original design the towers did not touch each other, but in order to simplify the play of forces and to keep the construction affordable they are now connected in a few places.
The facade provides the option of natural ventilation. On the west side there are balconies that are accessible from the apartments.
De Rotterdam, September 2019 - 02.jpg, Detail of facade
Usage
De Rotterdam is designed for residency, labor and leisure. The largest part is intended as office space and residency. It has 240 apartments, 72,000 m2 of offices, conference rooms and an underground parking with two floors providing over 684 parking spaces There is also a hotel with 285 rooms and 1500 m2 is assigned to cafes and restaurants. For fitness facilities 2,500 m2 is reserved and for shops 5,000 m2. The functions are grouped into blocks, but the different user groups meet at various places in the building, a concept that is defined by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international architectural firm with offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. The firm is currently led by eight partners - Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van ...
as a vertical city.[ ,]
Architectuur: de verticale stad
, ''Vrij Nederland
''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly and now monthly magaz ...
'', 14 June 2013. De Rotterdam will be used daily by about 5,000 people and with a floor space index
Floor area ratio (FAR) is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building-to-land ratio. The ...
of 32 De Rotterdam forms the most densely built part of the Netherlands.
References
External links
Website De Rotterdam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotterdam, De
Office buildings completed in 2013
Skyscrapers in Rotterdam
Postmodern architecture
Rem Koolhaas buildings
Skyscraper office buildings in the Netherlands
Residential skyscrapers in the Netherlands
Skyscraper hotels in the Netherlands