Client
Municipality of Rotterdam
Floor area
15.000 M² gfa
Location
Rotterdam
Purpose
Mixed-use building
Status
Completed
Project type
Renovation and conversion
Year
2009 – 2010
Assignment
Study
The Katoenveem is a functionalist warehouse designed by architect, J.J. Kanters, in 1921. As a result of the pull of the Port of Rotterdam in the direction of the North Sea, other port areas surrounding the city haven fallen into disuse. These are now eligible for rezoning.
Before building-level design could begin, a master plan was developed for the entire area. After this master plan was established, the values of the building were analyzed. The original warehouse can be understood as ‘introverted’ and from the interior, it has no relationship to its surroundings. This played an important role in our conceptualization.
“The raw warehouse will undergo a metamorphosis and be transformed into a beating heart.”
The basic concept has as its core a transformation from introvert to extrovert, in which the original, closed-off building becomes able to react to the activities that take place and the liveliness that exists at the center of the area. As such, the building’s ‘extrovert’ side will emerge, built through the original building. At the same time, an attractive beacon will be created for the area. The original contour of the façade is left intact and, in its extroverted, autonomous functions, can be experienced as a sort of ‘gauze’. The urban architectural axes that exist throughout the building make it both a destination in and of itself and a place people can travel through.
Credits
Team:
Roy Plevier, Jos Hoope.
Tags:
Mixed-use, gebiedsrenovatie, herbestemming, renovatie, interieur, >15.000 m², Rotterdam, Nederland
