De Rotterdam

De Rotterdam: a vertical city beside the Maas

De Rotterdam is one of the most impressive buildings on the city’s skyline. Located on Wilhelminapier, beside the Erasmusbrug, this enormous three-tower complex has become one of the great icons of contemporary architecture in Rotterdam.

The building was designed by OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), the practice founded by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and was completed in 2013.

At approximately 150 metres high and with around 160,000 m² of usable floor space, De Rotterdam combines apartments, offices, a hotel, restaurants and various other facilities within a single complex.

Three towers that change with your point of view

De Rotterdam consists of three towers — East, Central and West — rising above a large shared base.

One of the most distinctive elements of the design is that the upper sections of the towers are shifted in relation to one another. This interplay of volumes means that the appearance of the building changes depending on where it is viewed from.

The glass and aluminium façades emphasise its vertical appearance and continuously reflect the sky, the Nieuwe Maas and the buildings of Wilhelminapier.

The vertical city concept

OMA designed De Rotterdam as a true vertical city. Rather than dedicating the building to a single function, it brings together apartments, offices, a hotel, restaurants, meeting spaces and other facilities within the same complex.

The idea is to reproduce vertically some of the functions normally spread across different streets of a city: living, working, eating, meeting and staying overnight.

This mixture of uses means that thousands of people enter and leave the building every day, turning De Rotterdam into a small piece of city within the skyline itself.

Part of the transformation of Wilhelminapier

De Rotterdam occupies a prominent position on Wilhelminapier, a former port area that has been transformed over recent decades into one of the Netherlands’ leading high-rise districts.

Nearby are some of Rotterdam’s best-known examples of modern architecture and historic landmarks, including the KPN Tower, the Erasmusbrug and the historic Hotel New York.

This contrast between contemporary architecture and maritime heritage makes Wilhelminapier one of the most interesting areas of Rotterdam for architecture lovers.

The origin of the name De Rotterdam

The building takes its name from one of the historic ships called Rotterdam operated by the Holland America Line. For decades, the company’s ships departed from Wilhelminapier carrying thousands of European emigrants to the United States.

The name therefore connects one of Rotterdam’s most modern buildings with Wilhelminapier’s maritime past and the city’s history as a major international port.

Enjoy the view from nhow Rotterdam

Part of De Rotterdam is occupied by the nhow Rotterdam hotel. Even if you are not staying there, the hotel’s bar and restaurant area can be a good place to enjoy a drink while taking in views of the Nieuwe Maas, Erasmusbrug and the northern riverbank.

You can find more information on the nhow Rotterdam food and drink page.

De Rotterdam: practical information

Other buildings in Rotterdam

Belvedere | Calypso | Centraal Station | Cooltoren | De Zalmhaven | Delftse Poort | Depot | Euromast | Maastoren | Markthal | Millennium Tower | WTC