The Modernist
Located directly opposite Rotterdam Central Station, the 60,000-square-metre complex of The Modernist contains a total of 421 apartments, 12,750 square metres of offices, and a plinth with commercial spaces and a passage through the building. The Modernist is the third and final phase of the redevelopment of the Weenapoint by Maarsen Groep, and helps to form a recognisable city entrance from Rotterdam Central Station. With this addition Rotterdam’s Central District, which is currently dominated by office buildings, will be given a more mixed urban character.
- Location
- Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Status
- On site
- Year
- 2017
- Surface
- 60000 m²
- Client
- Maarsen Groep
- Programmes
- Offices, Retail, Residential, Bar-restaurant
- Themes
- Architecture, Housing, Mixed use
- Certifications
- BREEAM Excellent
The plinth of the building will feature a passage through its centre that offers a new, easy access from Kruisplein to the renovated inner courtyard of the Weenapoint that is publicly accessible to everyone. The ground and first floor of the plinth will house restaurants, a café, co-working spaces, offices, and a fitness studio, while the remaining four floors of the plinth host office space. Multiple entrances help to connect all spaces to the street level, including the passage and the lobby of the adjacent FIRST Rotterdam building on the Weena. These connections create a lively ground floor, including outside office hours.
The Modernist increases the number of residents in the Rotterdam Central District, in an area mostly comprising office buildings in the direct vicinity of Rotterdam Central. The two residential towers contain 421 apartments. At the top of the South Tower there are 88 owner-occupied apartments. The remaining apartments in both towers comprise 175 standard rental properties and 158 rental properties available for below-market rates for middle-income residents. The apartments vary from 45 to 120 square metres, of which the majority have 1 to 2 bedrooms, and 88 per cent of the apartments have an outdoor space in the form of a loggia or a roof terrace on top of the plinth.
News
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“The Modernist refers to the reconstruction architecture of Rotterdam”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “The clear volumes and the raised plinth refer to the buildings around the nearby Lijnbaan. In this way, The Modernist gives a first impression of the city when you arrive at Rotterdam Central Station.”
A striking aspect of the design are the so-called “sun cuts” – recesses in the towers that allow extra sunlight at street level on the Kruisplein. These recesses are determined by the high-rise regulations of Rotterdam, which designate ‘sun spots’ in the public space where no shadow may be cast by new buildings at specific times of the day. The design by MVRDV creates a physical expression of this combined data on the urban landscape and local regulations.
At 125 metres, the south tower provides a counterpart to the Millennium Tower opposite. The North Tower, at 70 metres, is lower and narrower, allowing as many apartments as possible in both residential towers to have a view of the Kruisplein and Central Station. The project has a single-level underground garage with a limited number of 59 parking spaces, while there are several spacious bicycle sheds at street level. This encourages residents and other users of The Modernist to use bicycles or public transport instead of the car.
Gallery
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Past events
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Credits
- Architect
- Principal in charge
- Partner
- Design team
- Strategy & Development
- Copyright: MVRDV
- Partners
- Contractor:
- STEBRU
- Project coordination:
- Arohnson
- Structural engineer:
- IMd Raadgevende ingenieurs
- MEP:
- DWA
- Cost calculation:
- Skaal
- Building Physics:
- Peutz
- Facade advisor:
- Frontwise Facades