Page 81 - Rotterdam. Make It Happen

DE URBANISTEN, who designed the Hofbogen Park, is also developing a special green zone in this area, turning the stony har- bour front in the Keilehaven into a tidal park with terraces of varying heights.
ADDING VALUE.
Climate change adaptation is an important spearhead in the further development of the city, which plans to build an additional 50,000 homes by 2040. The need to make the city greener and bluer seems at odds with the demand for more housing, but architects in Rotterdam are making a virtue of necessi- ty. Agencies such as MVRDV, Powerhouse, Superuse Studios, LOLA landscape and Mei architects and planners are responding to the challenge with considerable ambition and a desire for experimentation. Their projects show that they have passed the stage of sus- tainable building. What they want is regene- rative building: not only limiting the damage of building to man, animals and the planet, but adding value at all levels.
SAWA is an example of this design attitude; a residential building rising on Rotterdam’s Lloyd Pier that is as aesthetic as it is inno¬va- tive. With this design, Mei architects and plan- ners did not just focus on a single ambition, but a stack of several. SAWA is sustaina¬ble because it is made of wood, which means that it stores CO2 instead of emitting it. It is circular and even demountable; the building can be dismantled and the materials reused. Moreover, in cooperation with ecologists, a well-thought-out green concept was developed with private outdoor spaces and a communal vegetable garden. All that greenery stimulates biodiversity, is healthy for residents and has an important social component: you can meet others in the vegetable garden. SAWA should be completed in 2024. In the same year, Rot¬terdammers will be able to take their first walk in the green Hofbogen Park.
COOL OFF.
Rotterdam’s green development is already ful- ly visible in the Rijnhaven. The port is a testing ground for floating construction with a new at- traction for architecture enthusiasts: the specta- cular Floating Office designed by Powerhouse Company. The building is made entirely of wood, is self-sufficient and sustainable, and floats. The UN climate institute Global Centre on Adaptation has its headquarters here, and the architects of Powerhouse Company work on high-profile projects worldwide from this location. Meanwhile, a floating city park is rising around them, with lawns, trees, plants and a city beach. When the temperatures rise, Rotterdam residents can take a dip in the wa- ters of the Maas River.
“CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IS AN IMPORTANT SPEARHEAD IN THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY, WHICH PLANS TO BUILD AN ADDITIONAL 50,000 HOMES BY 2040”.
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