MVRDV and SYNRG have received approval to construct Schieblocks, a 47,000-square-metre office building in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Designed for developer LSI, who markets the project as The Bluezone Offices, the building will occupy a narrow site along the railway line, reaching 61 metres in height and extending almost 150 metres in length. The programme includes commercial spaces at ground level, offices throughout, and a restaurant and event venue on the upper floors. Conceived as a "3D neighbourhood," the design breaks the large volume into a series of colourful, distinct blocks that incorporate numerous references to Rotterdam's architectural character.
The project is located within the Schiekadeblok, a post-war reconstruction district composed of small office buildings that have evolved into a cultural destination with creative workplaces, bars, and clubs. As the city advances plans to densify this area while preserving its identity, the design of Schieblocks seeks to respect and extend this context. At ground level, the plinth is conceived for maximum openness, accommodating public amenities such as a concept store, bakery, and bike café, and providing access to a three-storey, 230-space underground parking garage. One of the site's constraints, a protected car-parking ramp belonging to the adjacent Central Post building, is integrated as the centrepiece of a glass-enclosed bar, the Wokkelbar, adding a distinctive feature to the neighbourhood's nightlife.
Responding to the scale and form of the surrounding reconstruction-era buildings, the massing echoes the Schiekadeblok's façade along Delftsestraat. The structure is divided horizontally into four sections, each with a defined plinth and one or two volumes above, adding 11 new "Schieblocks" to the area. This composition evokes the nearby post-war blocks, stacked vertically in what the architects describe as a "second reconstruction." Several upper blocks are carved according to sun angles to avoid casting shadows on homes across the railway. The top of the building further incorporates public amenities, including a restaurant, a two-storey cultural and social event space arranged around a tribune with city views, and an accessible green roof designed by Juurlink & Geluk, featuring water-retaining landscapes, a continuous rooftop promenade, and a pergola supporting solar panels.
The façade design draws directly from Rotterdam's architectural heritage. Inspired by Donald Judd's colourful furniture series, each block combines a specific colour and a fenestration pattern referencing local buildings. One block adopts projecting bay windows from the Huig Maaskant-designed Citrusveiling building and pairs them with the bright yellow of the former Luchtsingel bridge. Another uses the sandstone tone of Rotterdam's city hall, integrating windows that form "010," the city's dialling code, within octagonal frames referencing nearby Hofplein 19. Materials follow a contemporary approach: two blocks incorporate recycled brick to reduce embodied carbon, while three employ Building Integrated Photovoltaic panels on the south-facing façade to contribute to on-site energy generation.
Squeezing a building in this narrow space next to the railway was a tough challenge, not to mention the complexity of building around a National Monument with the Wokkelbar. But the Schieblocks will be a colourful addition to the city. This is how people will see Rotterdam when arriving by train: diverse, bright, and bold. And in its boldness, it is a call to action for the future of Rotterdam – from the 'wederopbouw', the reconstruction, we must shift to the 'tweederopbouw', the second reconstruction. – Winy Maas, MVRDV founding partner
Other recent major architecture project announcements include the completion of two 36-storey residential towers on Irwell Bank Road in Singapore, featuring a pixelated façade also designed by MVRDV; Foster + Partners' new master plan for the redevelopment of the former FIX brewery in Thessaloniki, Greece, envisioned as a mixed-use district integrating public space, housing, hospitality, and cultural programs; and Kéré Architecture's proposal for the 40,000-square-meter Biblioteca dos Saberes in Rio de Janeiro's Cidade Nova neighborhood, featuring a perforated façade for sun protection, roof gardens, landscaped terraces, shaded courtyards, open-air areas, a canopied amphitheater, and a pedestrian bridge linking the building to the nearby monument to Zumbi dos Palmares.
