MVRDV Designs Vibrant Rooftop Installation at the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam

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Setting the stage for Rotterdam Architecture Month this upcoming June, MVRDV have designed a temporary rooftop platform on the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. The 600-square-meter event space titled The Podium will be elevated 29 meters and covered with a striking pink color, making it visible to all pedestrians on ground level. The installation will open to the public on June 1st, coinciding with the inauguration of the Rotterdam Architecture Month Festival, and will continue to be used for events until August 17th.

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The Podium will offer visitors a new perspective of the city, providing them with panoramic views of the skykline, the Museumpark, the Het Nieuwe Instituut, and the neighboring MVRDV-designed Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. Its striking design was inspired by the building it sits on, originally designed by Jo Coenen. The structure stands as a demonstration of MVRDV’s "ambition to make better use of the city’s rooftops, an important approach to densifying the city that will allow it to develop sustainably by preventing urban sprawl while creating opportunities to add greenery, water management, and much-needed building functions".

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The platform, which is accessible via an exterior 143-step staircase, a temporary elevator, or via The Living Archive of a Studio, will be built on a structure of scaffolding with floor finishes that will be recycled after the festival. The events taking place on the platform will be programmed by a variety of Rotterdam institutions and creatives, and will include lectures, tours, films, and other activities related to architecture, along with sports classes, dinners, and programs specifically for children.

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Earlier this year, MVRDV revealed another temporary rooftop intervention for the Rotterdam Architecture Month that takes tourists and residents on a walk across several rooftops in Rotterdam, highlighting a new part of the public realm. The project will feature an aerial bridge from the roof of The Bijenkorf department store to the top of the World Trade Centre plinth.

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The Podium team includes Dura Vermeer, Dutch Steigers, Fonds 21, the City of Rotterdam, MVRDV, Rotterdam Architecture Month, Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam Partners, Stichting Job Dura Fonds, Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot, Stichting Volkskracht, and the VriendenLoterij.