A Pink 'Podium' Coming to Rotterdam This Summer
John Hill
3. March 2022
Visualization: MVRDV
MVRDV has designed a rooftop event space for Het Nieuwe Instituut: a flexible, 600-square-meter space sitting atop the pergola of the building designed by Jo Coenen in 1993. The bright pink surface 29 meters above the ground will be reached by 143 steps — also in pink — and will open to the public on June 1, 2022.
At 29 meters, The Podium is at the exact same height as The Stairs to Kriterion, the temporary exhibition MVRDV installed next to Rotterdam's main station in 2016. According to a press release unveiling the Dutch firm's design for The Podium, the new project is "a demonstration of MVRDV’s agenda 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."
The bold floors and guardrails of The Podium recall Didden Village, an earlier MVRDV project that exploited the potential of rooftops. Visitors to the Het Nieuwe Instituut this summer will be able to see that and other earlier MVRDV projects in MVRDVHNI: The Living Archive of a Studio, an exhibition of the firm's early works that occupies the top floor of the museum and offers access to The Podium. The exhibition is on display until September 4, while The Podium will be in place until August 17.
The platform will offer views of Rotterdam's Museumpark, MVRDV's own Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, and the historic Museum Boijmans van Beuningen that is being renovated by Mecanoo. (Visualization: MVRDV)
The mirrored facade of the Depot will reflect the bold pink Podium, turning the rooftop into a spot for selfies and meta-MVRDV photos. (Visualization: MVRDV)
A temporary elevator will be added at the far end to provide an accessible route to the temporary rooftop. (Drawing: MVRDV)
Drawings from MVRDV reveal how the large rectangular rooftop space can be arranged for various events... (Drawing: MVRDV)
...such as meetings, film screenings... (Drawing: MVRDV)
