Rotterdam City Hall Extension entries

Sep 2009

By David Basulto — Filed under: Competitions , Mecanoo, Mixed Use, Netherlands, OMA, ROTTERDAM, SeARCH

In a previous post I told you about the competition held by the City of Rotterdam for a mixed used building to accommodate public services and a residential program, and we presented OMA’s entry.

After the break, find the entries by the five finalists: Claus en Kaan Architecten, Mecanoo Architecten, Meyer en van Schooten Architecten, OMA and SeARCH.

SeARCH

OMA

(see more details about this entry on our previous article)

OMA

OMA

OMA

OMA

Meyer en van Schooten Architecten

Mecanoo Architecten

Claus en Kaan Architecten

31 comments »

designjunkie says:

hmmnn..some nice work here…

# September 3, 2009 at 12:53

FG says:

Meyer en van Schooten’s entry vaguely reminds me of a Hyatt Regency inside, but I like the outside a lot. Mecanoo’s looks like Åhlen’s City in Stockholm. But all are quite interesting.

# September 3, 2009 at 13:37

archilocus says:

Meyer en van Schooten are clearly inspired – not to say more- by Neutelings Riedijk… The outer shape looks like Neutelings Riedijk’s holland casino project in Utrecht (stopped by now) or other of their projects (tapered facades, patternish windows and large protruding frames, etc.) and the inside to Deventer city hall (to be built).
I don’t see Mecanoo’s point: the inside rendering looks like the existing city hall, and the outside refers more to office buildings than to the main administration building of a nearly 1000000 people city.
Oma’s project seems nice but I’m always doubtful about ghost/foggy renderings, you never know how it would really be in reality, but for sure it will never be like that…

# September 3, 2009 at 14:02

John says:

No way about Meyer!, they just put a new building inside the old stadstimmerhuis. It’s the same strategie as Search, OMA and Clausenkan. To create a dark gap between 2 buildings seams stupid. Mecanoo seems the only design where you can see one project, just one building. For me the Mecanoo concept is the strongest.
Althought the mecanoo image is serious, and for sure, it works. Is not this kind of experimentation of search or OMA, that they don’t know how to build it.

# October 4, 2009 at 12:50

ygogolak says:

I would like to see how SeARCH intends to maintain the living surfaces inside.

# September 3, 2009 at 14:05

RT says:

SeARCH’s proposal looks like MOS did for MOMA PS1

# September 3, 2009 at 14:30

David Basulto [tricky] says:

Apart from “looking alike”, they have nothing in common. There is something very important in terms of structure at MOS’ PS1 that this project doesn´t have.

# September 3, 2009 at 15:53

Fudge says:

I’d like a little more information on OMA’s ‘curtain like wall’ they have along the public entrances, is that a flexible element or a curved glass? It seems like it would be impractical if it were fabric.

# September 3, 2009 at 15:58

Tuf-Pak says:

Maybe it’s like those plastic curtains that separate the cold rooms at supermarkets. They could store gigantic sides of beef in the lobby.

That said, I love the use of the rigid truss to get the building off the ground and make those public spaces possible.

# September 3, 2009 at 23:16

Remkool says:

Se Arch the most intresting idea !

# September 3, 2009 at 18:06

highlander says:

Si entre “los requerimientos del concurso está el llamado a que este edificio sea “el más sustentable de Holanda”…” , creo que el proyecto de OMA esta en clara desventaja ya que la relación m2 construidos versus m2 de envolvente del edifico es de los mas altos comparados con las otras propuestas del concurso , lo cual genera mayor consumo de recursos energéticos . Los beneficios de esta arquitectura volumétrica repetitiva (cubitos) , son lejos menores que el gasto energético que generara el edificio .

# September 3, 2009 at 18:56

Tomas says:

Yo diria que OMA es de lejos el proyecto menos sostenible, igualement el de SEARCH parece que se basa en ser de color verde para decir que es sostenible. Por otra parte el de Mecanoo en ese aspecto es el más compacto, con menor superficie expuesta de fachada y al mismo tiempo parece ser el más economico sin perder calidad arquitectónica, ni funcionalismo, que deberia ser uno de los conceptos prevalentes en los edificios públicos.
El de Meyer, pese a parecer compacto, pierde fuerza y compacidad al separarse del edificio antiguo y crear una galeria entre el edificio antiguo y su proyecto. El de Meyer y Search me parecen proyectos que seria mejor construirlos aislados, porque tienen muy mala relación con el edificio antiguo

# October 4, 2009 at 12:57

Ala says:

I have a problem with the planting walls of SeArch. They don’t usually look great in winter. The one at Caixa Forum by H&M is a very good example. The planted wall pretty dries up in winter although some may argue that is a beauty of some sort.

# September 3, 2009 at 21:35

darthelkens says:

first project there,those 4 blocks maybe too close to each other?

# September 3, 2009 at 22:07

Huib says:

Mecanoo is the only office brave enough to really use the existing office building!

# September 4, 2009 at 04:42

MT Durban says:

You mean Mecanoo were the only firm brave enough to demolish the existing historical building. With that said ‘brave’ doesnt really seem like the most appropriate word any more…

# September 5, 2009 at 15:31

Peter says:

Yes, it’s truth. All the other projects seems a new building placed to close to the old building, but Mecanoo seems that really finish the project of the old building, as an idea to complete an urban block and create an uniform image.
Mecanoo’s design has the best relation with the old building.

# October 4, 2009 at 13:00

zilez says:

SeARCH has the model too bad to show their perhaps nice idea, so the building looks really bad.
Meyer en van Schooten Architecten project looks really nice, both in shape and materiality but they indeed have a big problem with interior, since you can find almost completely the same interior of the Hague town hall.
OMA’s vagueness is intentional since their concept is a cloud above the solid. The curtain walls is indeed made of industrial transparent rubber sheets. Its a good thing to test in Rotterdam, supreme test area.
Mecanoo is very brave in terms of chopping the old building, and that part of the project i really much like, but, other stuff looks soooo ordinary and plane that project is not interesting any more… and come on, 010 on the tower, can you be any more obvious?
Claus en Kaan… too nothing!

I vote for Meyer… and OMA

# September 4, 2009 at 05:46

Stan says:

I think that SEARCH proposal is quite interesting, because it defines a completly new volumetric typology for the city center and clear formal distinction between old and new.Strangely enough, please correct me if I am wrong the same tric, was done by Koolhaas 5 years ago, for the competition of Les Halles in Paris, where the french called his project-The Parfum Bottles.
Anyway..Meyer and Van Schooten is quite brutal and monumental, a bit New Yorkeese…which is not bad, and have to admit i like quite a lot..the problem is it is too massive and gives a bit the impression of an FBI headquarters…but still good project…
Mecanno surprises me with its quite classical modernist urban integration, and I am sure they are aiming to win in a very SECURE way..the facade of the low rise is quite elegant, but overal, i consider this project to be too classical for the purpose and the city…
OMA is you know OMA…but i think they starting getting too much used to the idea of the dematerialized volumes or eroding towers..they did it somewhere recently….Herzog and Demeuron as well, Jean Nouvel..i mean…bit of a Deja Vue….
Claus and Kaan..are actually giving quite complex proposal, which I think gives lots of richness and is a kind of Hybrid building…it at the same time on a scale of the city, offers courtyards…but also a landmarc presence with the connected towers..it is quite succesful urban architecture…The risk is that their facades look too much like an old fashoined office building which would destroy the interesting volumes.
Good projects …but i think purely realistically Mecanno will win….otherwise Claus and Kaan or Meyer and Van Schotten are the most competitive projects…

# September 4, 2009 at 07:58

Marc says:

What about the real architecture, the mature architecture, the serious architecture. The only good one is Mecanoo, all the others are not serious, they are to experimental, imposible or just it doesn’t work.
Claus en Kaan also did a project that works, but is not so nice…

# October 4, 2009 at 13:30

Jacob Antoni says:

by scrolling down the pictures: i didnt liked the fact or it appeared to me, that from the idea of vertical gardens / green architecture / ergonomic cannon or cave character the project became more and more casual till the end where it is more or less just a rectangle typological complex with some small(er) plants… Even when it is a nice building it is a pitty watching the idea fading away (if this was the original intention???)
Would like to hear if i am wrong! Thanks!

# September 4, 2009 at 09:47

I was at the exhibition at NAi, and the design of Search and OMA are really stupid. They pretend to be sustainable, and is just an image of sustainability. OMA has a lot of m2 of façade, and Search is just green coloured. But for exemple, in the booklet of Mecanoo I could see a lot of inteligent and convincing explanations about why their building is sustainable, just with architectural concepts such as: compacity, nutaral ventilation, green roof, flexibility, multiple uses for the building, termic inercy and solar protection, etc. Amazing, how the simplest project, is the smarter.

# October 4, 2009 at 13:09

Frank says: