All work
Kade 14
A 1957 grain silo on the Merwehaven kept in full, opened with a single public stair and re-let as workspace for 40 firms.
Client
Havenbedrijf Rotterdam
Location
Rotterdam, NL
Year
2024
Area
6,400 m²
Typology
Adaptive Reuse
Status
Completed
Havenbedrijf Rotterdam owned a 1957 grain silo that no longer stored grain and could not legally hold people. Two consultants had recommended demolition. The site was worth more empty.
We were asked for a third opinion, and given six weeks to produce it.
We kept all 42 concrete cells. Cutting them out would have cost more than the structure was worth and released roughly 1,900 tonnes of embodied carbon for nothing.
Instead we cut one vertical slot through the block and put a single public stair in it. Every floor is reached from that stair; every cell became a room with one window and very good acoustics. The new work is limited to the slot, the roof and the ground floor.
Delivered in 2024, fully let within five months to 40 firms. The reuse strategy came in 31% below the demolish-and-rebuild estimate and avoided an estimated 1,900 tonnes of CO₂e.
The stair is open to the public during working hours. It was the part of the brief nobody asked for.
Plates
Structural engineer: Van Rossum · Contractor: Dura Vermeer · Photography: Studio de Nooyer
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