Rotterdam, the architectural rebirth of the Dutch Phoenix

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The Markthal was inaugurated on October 1, 2014. From the apartments that make up its vault, the view of the market is breathtaking.

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For lovers of contemporary books, the second largest city in the Netherlands is a must-see destination.

Over the course of a weekend, it is indeed possible in Rotterdam to measure the extent of the construction site which pulled it from its ashes.

Reduced to nothing on May 14, 1940 during a fierce bombardment by the

German

, the city center of Rotterdam has become a huge field of architectural experiments.

Today, only the Saint-Laurent church testifies to its medieval past.

All the other buildings have risen from the ground in the last decades.

The Toren op Zuid and the Rotterdam Building herald a skyline of extravagant buildings on the banks of the Meuse.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

The eccentricity of certain achievements echoes the vital energy that allowed the city to resuscitate.

At first saturated with concrete by hasty reconstruction projects, Rotterdam has regained its gaiety by leaving the field open to the imagination of town planners.

The shark-fin central station, the Erasmus Bridge held together by its steel guy ropes and the flashy-ground Luchtsingel pedestrian bridge are just a few examples of Dutch audacity.

On the Place du Binnenrotte, the “cube houses” with oblique walls and the Blaak tower nicknamed “the Crayon” are even more surprising.

It is in the face of these puzzling achievements that the monumental Markthal was erected.

In the Hofplein district, the Luchtsingel network of secure gateways is the result of crowdfunding.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

A food Walhalla

This large hall, 120 meters long and 40 meters high, is Rotterdam's new icon.

The Markthal is the first indoor market for fresh produce in the Netherlands.

The uniqueness of this monument is not just due to its shape and size, but also to the way its different functions are intertwined with each other.

Nowhere else in the world can you find such a set combining under one roof a large covered market, food stores, areas dedicated to catering, a supermarket, apartments and an underground car park.

The stands which occupy its ground floor are sheltered by an arch in the shape of an inverted horseshoe, made up of 228 units.

At the top of the vault, prestige rhymes with vertigo: 24 penthouses have glazed floors giving a bird's eye view of the market!

Unique in the world

More than any other building, the Markthal is a true affirmation of Rotterdam's urban policy: a place open to the outside, welcoming, but also protective.

The ends of its structure must indeed remain closed to prevent drafts and rains from rushing inside.

In order to keep these entrances as transparent as possible, the architects opted for glass walls, held by steel cables.

The arrangement of the latter is comparable to the stringing of a tennis racket.

The cables thus have a certain flexibility allowing these immense glazed surfaces to withstand the pressure of possible storms.

View of the covered market from one of the vault apartments.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

These transparent walls make visible from the street the artistic creation that adorns the internal surface of the Markthal and arouses, by its shapes and colors, the curiosity of the public.

Spread over 11,000 m², the

(the Cornucopia) is one of the greatest works of art in the world!

Imagined by the Dutch Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam, this digital printing benefited from the technology of Pixar animation studios.

The work is a 3D photographic illusion of fresh produce, meats, fish and breads around which swirl flowers and insects: a modern variation around the still lifes of the 17th century Dutch masters.

Shopping under such a realization is a unique experience.

We already compare it to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel!

Trip

Discover Mont Blanc, to the top of the Alps via the Royal Way

Trip

Athens has been worshiping good food since Antiquity

Go

From Paris Nord, the Thalys train reaches Rotterdam in 2 hours 40 minutes.

Move

The Markthal is located opposite the Blaak intercity station in front of which many buses and trams stop.

Its undergrounds can also accommodate 1,200 cars and 800 bicycles.

Housing

On the banks of the Meuse, the very cozy Mainport Hotel is ideally located, opposite the Leuvehaven metro exit.

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