Rotterdam: The Latest Architecture and News

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This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights public spaces and buildings submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From bridges to squares, from parks to markets and train stations, this article explores the various kinds of public infrastructure that support the urban fabric, showcasing distinct approaches worldwide.

Featuring a bridge that doubles as a garden in China, the redevelopment of public spaces to meet contemporary needs in Montenegro and the Czech Republic, or a pier park in New York, the round-up spans various scales, from single architectural objects to urban strategies, to masterplans. The following projects reveal the ideas that shape public spaces and amenities in different contexts, illustrating diverse approaches towards what constitutes the backbone of the urban fabric.

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Recent extreme weather events and the acceleration of climate change, paired with decarbonization efforts that are not on track, make climate-related disruption unavoidable for urban environments, raising the issue of climate-risk adaptation. Moving past what can be done to prevent climate change, there is a strong imperative to develop strategies to prepare urban environments to cope with inevitable challenges such as sea-level rise, floods, water scarcity or extreme heat. The following discusses how cities can build resilience and adapt to undergoing and expected future climate threats.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In this week's reprint, author Walter Jaegerhaus explores the U.S. housing challenge, drawing a timeline of the evolution of different architectural solutions, from around the world. Seeking to "inspire designers today to create new housing options", and hoping "that the U.S can again embrace its experimental origins and try out new ideas and methods", the article highlights examples from Europe and the Americas.

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MVRDV has revealed the design of an exhibition and visitor centre for the Port of Rotterdam, which would tell the story of Europe’s largest port. Scheduled to open in 2024, The Harbour Experience Centre features a stack of five rotated exhibition spaces framing views of the surroundings, and outdoor staircases wrapped around the structure provide visitors with a route up the various terraces and to the rooftop. The project is the successor of FutureLand, a temporary information centre from 2009, whose success prompted the creation of a permanent exhibition.

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Like natural systems, great architecture is the product of circular processes. For Jan Jongert, a founding partner and architect at Superuse Studios, sustainable design is rooted in a continuous cycle of creation and recreation, use and reuse. Viewing re-use as a circular design strategy, the studio is developing strategies for cities to connect different flows and integrate these systems into the existing urban environment.

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Architecture and design practice Mecanoo has created a new vision for an iconic Maritime Center along the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam. Located in the middle of the water, the project includes an undulating, organic building form made to contrast with the industrial nature of the surrounding port. Partly underwater, the design features a triple helix and is made as a place for maritime entrepreneurs, science and culture.

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A new masterplan and building scheme has been designed for the Codrico Factory and Rijnhaven in Rotterdam. With the overall plan created by Powerhouse Company in collaboration with developer RED Company, the proposal includes a series of buildings by Mecanoo, SHoP Architects, Office Winhov and Crimson Architectural Historians. Called the "Codrico Terrain", the project aims to celebrate local industrial heritage and embrace change for the future.

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Videos

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Recognizing the importance of international contests in pushing forward inventive concepts and design, ArchDaily has put together a curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture featuring competition entries from around the globe. Submitted by our readers, these projects include winning proposals, honorable mentions, and recognized admissions.

In this week’s article, urban interventions take the lead with multiple square designs and infrastructural elements. On the cultural level, projects underlined include Museums in Iran and Norway, a National Concert hall in Lithuania, and a Mosque in Turkey. For the civic category, the functions highlighted comprise a new city hall for a South Korean district and an Indian community development center for at-risk women. Finally, other programs involve a rural school in Haiti, a tourist center in China, and a housing complex in Prague.

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MAD Architects has broken ground on the firm's first cultural project in Europe, the FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam. Commissioned by the Droom en Daad Foundation, the project builds on the history of the Fenix warehouse, once the largest warehouse in the world. MAD’s renovation of the warehouse aims to connect the history of Rotterdam with the city's present culture.

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Focusing on diversity, this curated selection of the Best Unbuilt Architecture showcases a multitude of functions. Submitted by our readers, the projects vary in scale, program, design, and representation. Coming from all over the world, many of these interventions are in progress, while others are still in conceptual phases.

Introducing innovative and out of the box ideas, this roundup includes a floating farm in the Netherlands, natural swimming pools in South Korea, a resort in Hungary, and a cascading museum extension in Armenia. Even more common functions such as a hotel in Vietnam, an infinity loop library in China, a mixed-use building in Iran, headquarters for Yandex in Russia, and a campus in Germany, present inventive approaches and intriguing imageries.

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