ROTTERDAM Completely destroyed by the second world war Rotterdam became an experimen-tal field for dutch architects. Since the postwar period the inner city centre has been changed and new concepts are still tried out.

The different movements of the last 50 years are easily identificable. The range goes from the shopping area Lijnbaan with buildings by van den Broek & Bakema and Hugh Maaskant to Schouwburgplein designed by West 8. Since the 80ies new highrises are constantly being added to the impressive skyline.

The Dutch Architectural Institute NAI is situated in the Museumspark, surrounded by other archi-tectural highlights such as the Kunsthal by Rem Koolhaas and the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. In 2001 Rotterdam celebrated its status as cultural capital with an exhibition showing 100 years of housing tradition in the Netherlands. Rotterdam´s new Architecture Biennal was launched in 2003.

The harbour of Rotterdam is not only the city's economic stimulator, also the town planning follows its dynamics. Abandoned harbour areas near the city centre provide space for ambitious city development projects such as Kop van Zuid, Lloyd Quarter or Katendrecht. On the estuary of the Maas-river, however, the biggest harbour of Europe grows further into the north sea with a second Maasplein ("Maasvlakte").

From Schouwburg to Kunsthal // architectural walk information / contact