Portlantis in Rotterdam
MVRDV 

Portlantis in Rotterdam

MVRDV 


Commissioned by the Port Authority of Rotterdam, Portlantis gives insight into the intricate workings of the Dutch city’s harbor. The recently inaugurated building – all of 3,533 square meters – is a stack of five rotated blocks that, besides providing exhibition spaces and public areas including a restaurant and a café, serve as an observation tower. The structure is collapsible, allowing reuse of its components.

Each floor is square in plan and has a large window that maximizes views of the surroundings in a different direction. Crimson-red stairs wind up to the rooftop, which looks out and around but also inward into the atrium.

The interior is organized around this 22-meter-tall atrium, which rises to all five levels with a kinetic sculpture hanging in the middle. MVRDV says that the building generates 30% more power than it uses. Efficient insulation and a heat pump, incorporated into the design, contribute to keeping energy requirements low.