"The proposed site is found beside a new tidal park, within a larger urban expansion that will bring housing, schools, cultural venues, and a train station to this stretch of riverfront. The team notes that because Rotterdam is a city whose policy and architecture is shaped by water management, the ambition carries a special weight."
"MVRDV's 'Rotterdam ROCKS!' envisions the Landmark a stacked landscape of porous volumes described as living rocks. The scheme suggests mass broken into inhabitable fragments, allowing air, light, and vegetation to circulate through the structure. In a city known for bold geometries and infrastructural clarity, the approach reads as both contextual and experimental."
"Heatherwick Studio imagines an 'Urban Reef,' organized as six layers of activity that support one another like a reef ecosystem. The concept draws on natural flows of movement, proposing stacked zones that accommodate gathering, learning, and reflection. The image of a reef suggests density and interdependence."
Five architectural firms—MVRDV, Heatherwick Studio, Office for Political Innovation, Mecanoo, and Ecosistema Urbano—have been selected as finalists for the Shift Landmark project in Rotterdam's Waterkant district. This 25,000 to 30,000 square meter development combines an immersive exhibition space, hotel, and public areas dedicated to circular living. Located beside a new tidal park within a larger urban expansion, the project responds to Rotterdam's unique relationship with water management and its below-sea-level geography. MVRDV proposes stacked porous volumes called 'living rocks' that allow air, light, and vegetation circulation. Heatherwick Studio envisions an 'Urban Reef' organized in six interconnected layers mimicking ecosystem relationships, with stratified circulation and textured facades encouraging multi-height occupation.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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