Client: Bouwfonds Ontwikkeling B.V. regio Zuid-West, Delft
Project: 23.000m2 high-rise development for commercial space, appartments, offices and hotel
Location: Schiedamsevest Rotterdam
Planning: design 2003 - 2004
Buildingcosts: 26 mi euro
The project 'Parkhouse Cool' defines a balance between living and working, amenities and green public spaces in an area called Cool in the city centre of Rotterdam. The building site is situated on the border of the modern city-centre and a nineteenth century neighbourhood, between a mix of high and low-rise developments, cultural amenities and welfare facilities. It is on the edge of Rotterdam's entertainment quarter and a popular mixed-use neighbourhood. The site can be defined as a pivotal location; therefore we have developed a pivotal programme for Parkhouse Cool and its surroundings.
The building is segmented programmatically and organically. Urban amenities such as an urban espresso bar an art-gallery, and commercial services are situated in the plinth of the building. Large town houses and living-working units can be directly accessed from the street. Above them, in the lee of the city's mass are a series of stepped park apartments with spacious terraces orientated towards the sun. In the higher dwellings the semi built-in exterior spaces give scope for a sheltered form of living space. On the top floors city-offices and hotel rooms offer a panoramic view over the city. The differing building heights and the 'green' facades relate to the adjacent public park. The upper storeys position the building in the high-rise skyline of the city, placing the whole Cool area on the map of Rotterdam.
The identity of the organic building block is expressed in its appearance and in its organic interweaving of programmes and technology of the building physics. Shared use of the available natural resources of sun and wind energy, heat interchange, natural air circulation and the recycling and purification of grey-water play an important role in defining the character of 'environmentally aware' living in the city.