MVRDV

In Rotterdam, a new hotspot has emerged for upcoming artists with bright blue containers and a bright orange staircase, surrounded by an evolving urban landscape of construction sites. We designed the Container Stairs for the Luxor Theater, that recently opened! 🧡🎭

This temporary structure serves as a showcase for new creators in theatre, dance, and other arts. The Luxor’s rooftop – usually only accessible for theatre-goers – becomes public and offers a stunning viewpoint for the ongoing, dramatic transformation of the Rijnhaven.

Our design has three blue shipping containers in a stepped formation, forming a protective barrier separating the theatre’s ground floor café and outdoor spaces from the surrounding construction sites. An orange staircase climbs these containers, leading to the theatre’s roof terrace. Built-in planters bring greenery to the staircase route, while the interior spaces of the containers provide spaces for small events or exhibitions.

The Container Stairs project was crowdfunded earlier this year, raising over €50,000 from 547 donors. Read more here! https://mvrdv.com/news/4630/container-stairs-opening-luxor-theater

Cc bbn adviseurs | IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs | SYNRG | Vergeer Bouw BV

📸 Rosa Quist

Make yellow win at Archello.com!💛 Our project Haus 1, the renovation of a dated office building into an eye-catching entrance building at the Atelier Gardens in Berlin, has been nominated for the Archello Awards for office building of the year, low and mid-rise!

Originally plain white but now bright yellow, the transformed building is completed with a new living roof, with a sustainable timber rooftop pavilion and terrace, accessible via a grand external staircase. HAUS 1 hosts adaptive work and meeting spaces across four floors.

The building’s new sunshine yellow draws attention to the campus from both near and far. From the central plaza of Atelier Gardens, a zig-zagging stair-scape, dotted with seating and viewing platforms offers views on the Berlin skyline.

With its focus on reusing as much of the structure as possible, and giving preference to durable, recyclable materials with a low environmental footprint whenever new materials were required, HAUS 1 shows how building can be transformed to do more with less!♻️🛠️

You can vote for Haus 1 here: https://archello.com/awards/archello-awards-2024/projects -building-of-the-year-low-and-mid-rise
Read more on the project on our website: https://www.mvrdv.com/projects/1079/haus-1

Atelier Gardens | Fabrix | Hirschmüller Schindele Architects | Harris Bugg Studio

📷Lukas Drobny | Schnepp Renou

We're bringing a piece of Shenzhen to Frankfurt! Our Fabrications team made a model of the Shenzhen Women & Children’s Centre for the International High-Rise Awards Exhibition in Frankfurt.🏆🏙️

Completed in 2023, the Shenzhen Women & Children’s Centre has transformed an old mixed-use tower into a vibrant and colourful skyscraper hosting a hotel and a wide range of facilities for the welfare of women and children. With its colourful façade, the building is a refreshing presence in Shenzhen’s Futian district. More importantly, at 100 metres tall, the building sets an important precedent for repurposing buildings in a city that is soon to see more reuse projects coming its way!

The Shenzhen Women & Children’s Centre has, alongside Valley, been nominated for the International High-Rise Awards organised by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), Stadt Frankfurt am Main, and DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale! There is an exhibition dedicated to this award, where this model and a Valley model will be displayed, from November 13 till January 12 at the Museum Für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt.

Find out more on the exhibition here! https://dam-online.de/en/veranstaltung/exhibition-opening-best-high-rises-2024-25/
Want to read more on the Shenzhen Women and Children's Centre? Check our website here: https://www.mvrdv.com/projects/467/shenzhen-women-and-children's-centre

“From the beginning, we’ve always been trying to see densification as a problem that we have to solve in a good way, to develop the 'three-dimensional city': not just one programme extruded up, but elevating more of the city fabric, normally expected at the ground level, upwards.”

In the CTBUH’s latest issue on Vertical Urbanism, Will Hunter and Francisco Javier Quintana de Uña interview our very own M, VR, and DV on our reputation for challenging architectural expectations in tall buildings and how we continue to generate new social and sustainable models for liveable urban density. Topics discussed touch on a wide array of our projects, such as Future Towers in India, The Hills in Ecuador, Valley and Westerpark West in Amsterdam, and our co-living design study.

You can order the magazine via this link! https://www.ctbuh.org/academic/masters-program/student-work/sustainable-vertical-urbanism-towards-2050

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)

👷‍♀️👷‍♂️The construction of La Serre is progressing! A few weeks ago, our Parisian team took a little trip to check out the façade prototype of the project.

Located in Issy-les-Moulineaux in Greater Paris, this future 18-storey rack is to be filled with greenery, housing units and shops. The project creates a biodiverse haven that challenges traditional apartment living.🌳🌸🐝

It comprises 190 apartments, 30 percent of which are allocated to social housing. The apartments create a three-dimensional mosaic within an open steel rack. This allows all residences to open up to private balconies or terraces. Shared gardens envelop the building in a lush green coat, amounting to nearly 3,000 square metres of outdoor space. The vertical garden contains 150 different plant species, 70 percent of them native. Low-carbon materials are incorporated and ecologists collaborated on the project to include nesting boxes for local species of birds and bats.

Read more on La Serre here! https://www.mvrdv.com/projects/515/la-serre

Cc Ville d'Issy-les-Moulineaux | OGIC Immobilier | Atelier Alice Tricon
Renders by ENGRAM

Preserving the past while shaping the future! The construction of Tripolis Park has been completed!

Tripolis Park renovates and transforms one of the last projects by the celebrated Dutch modernist architect Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam. On behalf of Flow Real Estate | Development, we restored two of the three listed heritage buildings in line with Van Eyck’s original design. We also added a 12-storey “landscraper” along the edge of the site to shelter the complex from noise and dust of the adjacent highway.

The new building is careful in its relationship with the heritage buildings, keeping a respectful distance so that an exciting in-between space emerges where the two meet, with bridges crossing overhead to connect the old and new.

Read more on the project here! https://mvrdv.com/news/4616/tripolis-complete-aldo-van-eyck-work-renovated-protected

Flow Real Estate Development | Powered by EGM | G&S Bouw b.v. | Toussaint Project Management | Deltavormgroep bv | Van Rossum Raadgevende Ingenieurs BV | Arcadis | Bosman Bedrijven | bbn adviseurs | DGMR | concrete

📸Ossip van Duivenbode

“Ten years later, what does the Markthal mean to MVRDV? For any architect, a project becoming a chapter in the story of their home city is an undeniable dream. At the same time, such a project outgrows the architect, and takes on a life of its own. That requires a nuanced relationship with the building, which now belongs more to the public than to its designer.”

We’re wrapping up the 10th anniversary of the Markthal with the beautiful photos our Instagram followers shared to commemorate this milestone with us. It’s incredible to see that even after a decade, this building still sparks so much joy and enthusiasm among Rotterdammers and visitors to the city.

As we reflect on this milestone, we also acknowledge the broader impact of Markthal – both the triumphs and the challenges it has brought to Rotterdam. We’ve shared more thoughts on this in a special reflection in Stack Magazine on our website, where we dive deeper into the lessons learned over the past ten years: https://mvrdv.com/stack-magazine/4608/markthal-ten-years-reflection

Here’s to the next decade of Markthal!🥂 Thank you all for celebrating with us!

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

Did you know that the cable net façade of the Markthal is the largest of its kind in Europe?

The glass façade is divided into 26 vertical and 22 horizontal cables. Together they form a suspended net, similar to a tennis racket.🎾 This net can hold a pressure of 25,000 kilograms, having enough flexibility to withstand heavy storms. In the middle, the façade can be exposed to deflections up to 70 centimetres!

The building is designed with an open character. While the ends of the arch had to be physically closed to provide protection from the weather, they are kept as transparent as possible by this single-glazed cable net façade. Thanks to the glass façade, the arched shape of the building and the bright colours of the artwork remain clearly visible, inviting the public to enter the building. The exterior of the Markthal is executed in grey natural stone, the same as on the pavements, to place greater emphasis on the interior.🎨

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

What makes the Markthal special is its typology: a market that is covered by housing. The building comprises 102 apartments for rent and 126 for sale, including 24 penthouses. The apartments vary from 80 to 300 square metres and from one to five bedrooms.🏘

Inhabitants can reach their apartments through six separate entrances leading to elevators and stairs. Due to the structure, the elevator hall gradually changes in size and location across all the floorplans. At the ground floor, the elevator is located at the inner façade, and at the top floor towards the outer façade.

Every resident has a view towards the market through windows or a glass floor made of sound- and smell-proof triple glazing. Kitchens, dining rooms and storage are positioned at the market side, establishing a connection to the market. Would you like to be able to take a peek into a bustling market from your own apartment?🍎🧀💐

Stay tuned for more facts and memories of Markthal!

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

Today we look into one of the key factors of Markthal: the monumental mural called "Cornucopia", crafted by Rotterdam artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam. This digital art piece expands over an impressive 11,000 square meters, and is composed of 4,500 aluminium panels which helped create the vivid portrayal of an abundant harvest – complete with fresh fruits, flowers, fish, and the famous Laurenskerk.🌻🍇

Cornucopia draws inspiration from the grand still-life traditions of the Dutch Golden Age, Greek mythology, and the art of arch decoration seen in places like the Sistine Chapel. It evokes the sensation of lying in a meadow, gazing up through the Markthal towards the sky, with a radiant sun at its centre, symbolising abundance.

As one of Europe’s largest digital art installations, one can only imagine the technology used to create the mural! Indeed, Cornucopia was created at a resolution of 400,000 megapixels, all crafted using Pixar 3D animation software. This results in an unparalleled visual experience that invites viewers to engage with the artwork on multiple levels.

But the Markthal is as innovative as it is artistic. The mural serves a function beyond aesthetics thanks to its acoustic qualities, with the panels covered in small holes that help to reduce echoes. This not only enhances the experience of those visiting the bustling market, but also ensures that sound is absorbed for those residing in the apartments.

Stay tuned for more fun facts and memories of the Markthal!

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

Whereas we are digging up memories, during the Markthal's construction hundreds of archaeological artefacts were dug up – providing many insights into the city's ancient history!

In 2009 and 2010, the Archaeology Department of the Gemeente Rotterdam conducted a large excavation in the construction site of the Markthal. Hundreds of archaeological artefacts were found when digging the parking lot, including a medieval tongue scraper, a 22-carat gold ring from the 15th century, and children’s shoes from the 16th century. These artefacts are still exhibited in the parking lot of Markthal.

The archaeological research started at a depth of 3 metres underneath sea level. The Markthal site was extremely interesting for archaeologists as it is the very place where Rotterdam was founded in 1270 by the construction of a dike in the river Rotte. In 1340, Rotterdam received the status of a city and was expanded towards where Blaak station is now located.

Stay tuned for more fun facts and memories of the Markthal!

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

Sustainability was a key consideration in our design of the Markthal, with many – for their time – cutting edge technical innovations. The Markthal received a BREEAM Very Good certificate as the building is connected to city heating and a thermal storage system underneath the building. This system also heats and cools a number of adjacent buildings in the surrounding area.

For the hall itself, extensive research was conducted to create a comfortable interior climate with an extremely low energy use. The hall is naturally ventilated, with fresh air flowing in underneath the glass façade and rising upwards to leave the hall through ventilation shafts in the roof. This creates a thermal system which can function without any machinery. A central monitoring system exchanges heat between different programmes, which decreased the number of installations needed for heating and cooling significantly.

Stay tuned for more facts and memories of Markthal!

Markthal is 10 years old!🎉 We’re celebrating with a 10-day trip down memory lane to share our 10 favourite Markthal memories.

In these past 10 years the Markthal has become a real magnet for visitors, as well as true landmark of Rotterdam. The building attracts around 8.5 million visitors a year, which amounts to 163,000 visitors every week.

Additionally, the Markthal has been credited with a significant influence on Rotterdam’s urban landscape, economy, and cultural identity over the last decade. Once primarily known for its port, the success of the Markthal helped the city become more recognised internationally for the innovative architecture and urban design that has been developing here for decades.

Winy Maas was interviewed by Radio Rijnmond this week to reflect on the effect the Markthal has had. "The reactions in Rotterdam for this building were very pleasant, because it wasn’t a ‘simple’ tower but a public space where art has an important role and where you can live. But the impact worldwide was also surprising to me,’’ says Winy. "There was a huge number of different groups that came to visit Rotterdam to look at this alternative way to construct housing for their own respective city or town."

Kim Heinen, manager of Media Relations & Public Affairs at Rotterdam Partners is also positive about the effect of the building on Rotterdam. "The Markthal was really a defining moment for the development of Rotterdam. What we saw when the Markthal opened was a lot of media attention for the building. And there was more interest in Rotterdam as a whole," says Kim. "It allowed us to show other parts of the city as well and it enabled other big, bold projects to really take off. It gave the city more confidence in being more experimental in terms of architecture."

How do we bring heart into public housing?❤️ We’re doing this by redeveloping the Faneuil Gardens public housing complex in Boston into a vibrant and inclusive community.

Our masterplan for Faneuil Gardens replaces the outdated 1940s apartment complex with five modern buildings featuring high-quality mixed-income affordable housing, ample greenery, live-work artists spaces, and a new community centre at the heart of a public boulevard. Not only does this project guarantee homes for all current residents, it also adds 183 new income-restricted units, addressing Boston’s housing shortage and promoting neighbourhood stability.

The building was originally built for WWII veterans in the 1940s and is currently a state-funded public housing estate located in Brighton. It consists of ten buildings which are currently home to six hundred residents from low- and moderate-income households, with a rich mix of cultural backgrounds and multi-generational families.

The redevelopment masterplan addresses the immediate needs of current residents while laying the foundation for long-term sustainability through four key ambitions:

🌐🔗Connectivity
Improved pedestrian connections that link to the surrounding neighbourhood and McKinney Park.
🤝💬Engagement
An active community heart and green outdoor spaces hosting diverse uses.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦✨Inclusivity
Accessible units for a variety of household types and communal spaces for all age groups.
🌱💪Resilience
Climate-adaptive measures such as flood preparedness, construction using local and recycled materials and biodiverse planting.

Read more on the project here! https://mvrdv.com/news/4604/creating-a-pulsing-heart-for-brighton-mvrdv-redevelops-faneuil-gardens-public-housing-site-in-boston

Boston Housing Authority | The Community Builders | JGE Architecture + Design | Copley Wolff Design Group | Langan Engineering & Environmental Services