MVRDV proposes a pink public podium on the Het Nieuwe Instituut rooftop, accessed via a 143-step staircase

To mark the beginning of the Rotterdam Architecture Month festival, MVRDV is building a temporary public space on the Het Nieuwe Instituut rooftop. Accessed via a 143-step staircase, the podium creates a 600-square metre space for various public events, during and after the festival.

Painted all in pink, the space offers a unique opportunity to experience Rotterdam’s architecture, the Museumark and the Het Nieuwe Instituut from a new perspective. This proposal is part of MVRDV’s ongoing investigation to better use the city’s rooftops — “an important approach to densifying the city”, while creating opportunities to add greenery, water management, and much-needed building functions.

 

Last year, to mark the beginning of Rotterdam Architecture Month, MVRDV launched ‘Rooftop Catalogue’, commissioned by the City of Rotterdam. The catalogue presents 130 innovative ideas for underutilised rooftops in the city. Building upon this, this year, the firm has decided to create a platform at 29 metres, accessed via an external staircase, a temporary elevator, or via The Living Archive of a Studio – a collaborative exhibition that shows MVRDV’s early works – which is currently on display on the top floor.

The flexible space will be used to host festivals, lectures, tours, film screenings and other activities, representing the ambition of the Het Nieuwe Instituut to increase public knowledge about architecture.

Sustainability was an important factor. While the podium is built to be fully recycled after its usage, it will be made on a scaffolding structure with floor finishes.  The rooftop will be used until August 17^th, after which, it will be disassembled and part of it recycled.

‘Podium’ will coincide with the opening of the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk, an initiative of the Rotterdam Rooftop Days, also designed by MVRDV. The installation will provide access to visitors to the various rooftops which were previously not accessible to the general public. The intention is to showcase the potential of empty rooftops in the city, giving the large area of flat roofs in the city a function: public programming, water storage, energy production, or greenery. 

 

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About MVRDV

MVRDV was founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. Based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, we have a global scope, providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues in all regions of the world. Our highly collaborative, research-based design method involves clients, stakeholders, and experts from a wide range of fields from early on in the creative process. The results are exemplary, outspoken projects that enable our cities and landscapes to develop towards a better future.

The work of MVRDV is exhibited and published worldwide and has received numerous international awards. Two hundred and fifty architects, designers and urbanists develop projects in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative design process that involves rigorous technical and creative investigation. MVRDV works with BIM and has official in-house BREEAM and LEED assessors.