'These are exciting times for high-rise enthusiasts in Rotterdam'

There has been a lot of construction in Rotterdam in recent years. For example, quite a few high towers are being shot into the sky. Rotterdam is also the high-rise city of the Netherlands and is now building the highest skyscraper in the Benelux, with a height of 215 meters. And so the Rotterdam architecture is increasingly being expanded with new buildings. But is all that new high-rise good for the future of Rotterdam?

Govert van der Heijden copyright artofrotterdam.com

Govert van der Heijden, a Rotterdam artist and illustrator, takes out a large canvas and shows what he is working on, on the canvas you can see the beginning of a painting of the skyline of Rotterdam. “When I was in the car with my parents as a child and I saw the city somewhere in the distance with the tall buildings in the center, I always looked at it with admiration and thought: 'wow, what a beautiful big city'.”

Van der Heijden mainly makes paintings and prints of Rotterdam architecture. If you come to his home office, you will see some of his work here and there. The most striking is a beautiful large drawing in black and white where you see Rotterdam from a bird's eye view, "This is the most popular, people like to have everything of Rotterdam in a painting".

Architecture city

Rotterdam has been chosen by many architects as the architectural city of the Netherlands.
Former mayor Bram Peper contributed to the arrival of the skyline in Rotterdam in his time (1982-1998). Peper believed that Rotterdam should be on the map as a European metropolis and so the Weena was filled with skyscrapers at the end of the eighties. The highest buildings in the Netherlands are also in Rotterdam, such as the Maastoren, the Montevideo and the Rotterdam. Govert describes the Rotterdam architecture as raw, businesslike and innovative. “Rotterdam is un-Dutch and is more in the direction of an American city, because of the skyscrapers and the wide streets. There is also no longer really an old center, which gives you more the feeling of being in a big city.”

Architecture Day

That architecture is alive in Rotterdam can be found every year during the Day of Architecture, this year on Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June. On those days, the special architecture of Rotterdam is in the spotlight. And during the weekend you can discover the architecture of the city through various activities, such as an area walk, guided tours and presentations. The Day of Architecture is also busy with all the developments in the city. For example, Rianne Groen of OMI Rotterdam says that they always try to include recently completed buildings with an architectural value in the program. OMI is a public center for architecture, OMI offers partners space to present their city programs.
Rianne Groen also says that they are looking at construction sites, such as the Boijmans Depot. They have also included Up:Town, a new high-rise building in the maritime district, in the programme. Up:Town was previously included in the programme as a construction site. They are also going to work on the Forum complex around the Donner on the Coolsingel. The Forum complex is still under construction and will consist of homes, shops and offices. More information about the programme will be available in April.

The Salmon Harbour

More and more tall buildings are being built in Rotterdam. The Zalmhaventoren is one of them. The tower is being built in the Scheepvaartkwartier, near the Erasmusbrug and if you walk past it, you can already see a small part of the tall tower. The skyscraper will become part of the Zalmhaven. Eventually, three buildings will be built, of which the Zalmhaventoren will be the tallest. The three towers offer living space. There will be apartments, penthouses and townhouses.

Salmon harbour tower under construction copyright Emma Meijer

Dirk Schennink of RTM XL, an online public platform for Rotterdam enthusiasts, high-rise buildings and urban development, says that the site even came into being because of the arrival of the Zalmhaventoren. They were founded 12.5 years ago, precisely to make the development of the building possible. “There was a lot of resistance from the neighbourhood, many people thought the building was too high. There was no positive sound to be heard anywhere. That's why we thought: we actually want to let that positive sound be heard because there are a lot of people who like it, but you don't hear anything about it.” Schennink has understood from the developer and the municipality that the site ultimately also played a role in the arrival of the Zalmhaventoren. “And it has only become higher over time, so that's even more fun.” BAM construction and technology is now busy building the three towers.

Another high-rise building that is currently under construction is The Cooltower. The building will be located between the Witte de Withstraat, the Schiedamsedijk and the Vasteland and will be 154 meters high. With the construction of The Cooltower they are even less far than the Zalmhaventoren. There are now three floors visible, but it still does not look like the tower that, according to plan, should be there in 2021. From a distance you can only recognize the construction site by the crane that is there.

High-rise

The first skyscraper in the Netherlands was also in Rotterdam, that was the White House and was built at the end of the nineteenth century. And it is almost unimaginable, but at 42 meters the White House was the highest office building in Europe. Of course, Van der Heijden is also aware of the current developments in high-rise buildings in Rotterdam. “I have seen few designs that made me think: that is really innovative. For example, the Zalmhaventoren, that is just straightforward and could also be in London or New York. And I think that is a shame, I like that it is tall and that it is a stately building. But I like it better when there are more special buildings, such as the Markthal and the Erasmus Bridge. For example, there will be a wooden building next to the Central Station, I think that is really cool. As far as I am concerned, everything could be a bit more unique in terms of design.”

Schennink believes that there are many different buildings to be seen in Rotterdam and hopes that many more tall buildings will be added to Rotterdam. “It has several advantages, you can accommodate more people on a small piece of land and that ensures that you do not have to expand in green areas on the edge of the city. And there are still relatively few people living in the center of Rotterdam compared to other cities. We only think it is nice if more people and buildings come to Rotterdam.”

The Rotterdammers

Govert used to think that the more tall buildings, the better. But he thinks differently about that these days. “I have been to cities like Vancouver and Hong Kong and they are also real high-rise cities. But that is really only for rich people who can live and work there, so you get a pretty boring center. And the charm of Rotterdam is that all layers of the population live and work here and that has to be preserved.”
Dirk thinks differently about it. “The people of Rotterdam will not leave because of the development of the towers, but because of the course of developments in the old city districts. Many social housing units are being demolished there and expensively rebuilt. So we say build back just as many houses as were there, because that is not happening now either. And there is also demand for more expensive apartments.”

Future of Rotterdam Architecture

“In the future I think the city will become a lot busier. And there will be a lot of towers anyway and we already know that. I think it will be great times for architecture fans and high-rise lovers in Rotterdam,” says Schennink. According to someone who paints Rotterdam buildings every week, there is room for change in terms of balance between the buildings. “I think it is great when the city is also a beautiful picture from a distance, when the buildings are attuned to each other and when beautiful shapes are created. For example, if you were to stand on a roof in Delfshaven, you would see buildings all over the horizon but there is no unity. I would like Rotterdam to serve as an example as a city for the Netherlands and the rest of the world. And for it to become an inclusive city.”