The Dutch city offers eye-catching architecture and modernist meeting venues, reports David Atkinson
Rotterdam has become known as a site of architectural innovation. German bombing raids flattened much of Holland’s second-largest city in 1940, only for it to be rebuilt during the post-war years in a modernist style.
Over the past ten years, the cityscape has been shifting southwards, towards the harbour, and the development of Wilhelminaplein – a waterside district located across the Erasmus Bridge on the south bank of the River Maas – now offers a design-conscious area for meetings and events.
The centrepiece is the newly opened De Rotterdam, a 150-metre-tall skyscraper with a distinctive “shuffled-blocks” design from avant-garde architectural champion Ram Koolhaas. The four-star Nhow Rotterdam hotel is the building’s first major tenant.
The port remains Rotterdam’s economic powerhouse, with an annual turnover of 600 million euros in 2012, and the slew of businesses relocating to harbourside Wilhelminaplein in recent years has boosted the event sector. Six partners now collaborate under the Congress Pier Rotterdam umbrella to co-host events for up to 2,500 delegates with an emphasis on industrial heritage and cutting-edge architecture.
Alexandra Witters, events manager at venue LP2 says: “Rotterdam isn’t big on nostalgia. But while this area has been transformed, some of the historic buildings remain to lend it a sense of atmosphere. I like the way the past, present and future come together here.”
For the Rotterdam Convention Bureau, the development of Wilhelminaplein offers an opportunity to boost Rotterdam’s global profile. The city hosted 26 International Congress and Convention Association-registered events in 2012, generating e12 million in local spending.
Joyce Wittelaar, account manager for foreign investment agency Rotterdam Partners, says: “With a varied selection of conference centres and 6,000 bedrooms in three- to five-star hotels, Rotterdam offers an excellent price-to-quality ratio.”
Across the city, other projects are bringing new life to the central districts. The Koolhaas-designed Kunsthal modern art museum reopened in February, while the horseshoe-shaped Markthal will open in October, incorporating a new indoor market, apartments, restaurants and retail space.
The renovation of Rotterdam Central station was set for completion last month, with European high-speed and Randstad Rail local services expected to handle 323,000 daily passengers by 2025. “While other cities talk about it, Rotterdam rolls its sleeves up and gets on with it,” Wittelaar says.
Nhow Hotel
NH Hotel Group’s Nhow Rotterdam opened in January and offers 278 modern rooms, the best of which are located on the top (23rd) floor and boast sweeping views across the Erasmus Bridge.
Located in the up-and-coming Wilhelminaplein district, the hotel forms part of the towering De Rotterdam building, designed by Rem Koolhaas as a statement of Rotterdam’s ambition to be a small-scale Manhattan – the aluminium façade recalls New York skyscrapers of the 1960s. The hotel reflects the minimalist aesthetic of De Rotterdam, and showcases artworks by local artists on bare, white-brick walls.
The nine meeting spaces offer a contemporary setting for events, with the bridge views being the highlight. There are two 20-seat boardrooms, plus two larger spaces – each divisible into three for 30-50 delegates – arranged around a central foyer. A “social wall” acts as a digital display to showcase corporate slogans and Tweets from delegates.
The restaurant is a striking space with a private dining area for ten to 120 people, and lavish gold-lamé curtains dividing different sections. The hotel can arrange for an artist from a local academy to capture your event, providing a take-away souvenir for guests.
Wilhelminakade 137; nhow-rotterdam.com
Floating Pavilion
Emerging from the water in Rijnhaven, to the south, is a trio of transparent domes that doubles as a quirky event venue. Built on a floating polystyrene base and accessible by gangplank, the solar-powered structure looks like three giant golf balls that have been cut in half.
The pavilion comprises an auditorium for 150 people theatre-style and a blank-canvas space for car launches, receptions and dinners with capacity for 200 seated. Huge windows face the port, while secure anchorage minimises movement when boats pass by.
Tillemakade 99; floatingpavilion.nl
New Luxor Theatre
A landmark of the Kop van Zuid district, the New Luxor Theatre stands opposite the southern entrance to the Erasmus Bridge.
Both the interior and exterior of the geometric, Bauhaus-style building are crimson red and, from a distance, it looks like a docked cruise ship. The venue lends itself well to corporate clients looking for a theatrical flourish, and can be hired exclusively outside performance times.
The auditorium seats 1,500 delegates, and there is a series of foyers for receptions of up to 700. Gala dinners for 200 guests can be held on the main stage, and private meals for 20 are also possible in one of the auditorium’s foyers.
Posthumalaan 1; luxorevents.nl
Lantaren Venster
This arthouse cinema and lively jazz venue also acts as a spacious waterside location for conferences, talks and screenings.
Opened in 2010 as part of the new wave of arrivals to the Wilhelminaplein district, it has an auditorium for 300 people, as well as five 120-seat screening rooms (available outside regular show times). Film posters line the walls, and there are audio-visual and video-conferencing facilities.
Otto Reuchlinweg 996; lantarenvenster.nl
LP2
This event space is part of the 1950s-built Las Palmas building, a former Holland America Line warehouse located opposite the new cruise terminal on the south bank of the River Maas.
LP2 is essentially a huge, 1,250 sqm blank-canvas built around giant concrete pillars. It is currently home to small-scale productions by a theatre company and a temporary exhibition by the Rotterdam Museum, but offers a flexible policy for design-your-own functions.
Previous users have staged gala dinners for 400 delegates and informal buffets for 800, bringing in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra or a local opera company to provide entertainment.
Wilhelminakade 326; lp2.nl
Nederlands Fotomuseum
Located next to LP2 in the Las Palmas building, this museum of photography is suited to small, art-and-design themed events.
It offers 900 sqm of exhibition space, as well as three 20-seat boardrooms decorated with black-and-white images from its archive. Combine an event upstairs with a private view of the Dark Room’s collection – a 250 sqm subterranean space with hands-on exhibits.
Alternatively, enjoy a private view of moving images from the archive. These are projected on to giant screens while guests watch from small booths and comfy sofas in the upstairs Film Lounge.
n Wilhelminakade 332; nederlandsfotomuseum.nl
Hotel New York
This historic property is the original emblem for the Wilhelminaplein district. Built in the early 20th century and one of the few buildings to survive the bombings of the Second World War, it has 72 individually styled bedrooms, seven meeting rooms and a buzzy restaurant.
Capturing the grandeur of its golden years as the offices for the Holland America Line, there are two wood-panelled boardrooms for 16 and 22 delegates. The Bals room can host an informal reception for 150 against the backdrop of a large mural charting the 14-day voyage from Rotterdam to Ellis Island, New York.
The library is lined with shelves of books detailing the history of the Holland America Line, while display cabinets throughout the hotel showcase old shipping memorabilia.
Koninginnenhoofd 1; hotelnewyork.nl
SS Rotterdam
The former flagship of the Holland America Line is now berthed at Katendrechtsehoofd. Built in the 1950s, the ship reopened in 2010 as a hotel and event venue – it now seats up to 500 delegates in the largest space, the Theatre.
The seven decks house 254 four-star guestrooms and 17 spaces for private events, ranging in capacity from 35 people in the library to 450 guests for a reception in the Odyssee room. The Queen’s Lounge hosts 237 people cabaret-style. The new Captain’s bar doubles as a central foyer for breakout sessions with 12 boardrooms around the perimeter for about 15 delegates.
The interiors are littered with items of cruise nostalgia and period fittings, and gala dinners are inspired by dishes served on board in the 1950s.
3e Katendrechtsehoofd 25; ssrotterdam-events.nl
EXPERIENCE THE CITY
- Kunsthal The recently reopened museum holds a range of temporary exhibitions within its Koolhaas-designed walls. kunsthal.nl
- Rotterdam ArchiGuides Explore the city’s modernist architecture by bike or on foot. rotterdam-archiguides.nl/en
- Euromast Tower The viewing platform in the 100-metre-tall Euromast offers a panoramic perspective. euromast.nl
- Het Nieuwe Instituut Get an insight into design and e-culture at the architecture institute, which reopened last June. hetnieuweinstituut.nl
- Watertaxi See the cityscape from a different perspective by catching the Watertaxi Rotterdam around the harbour, or back downtown from SS Rotterdam. watertaxirotterdam.nl
- Katendrecht Take a self-guided walking tour of this fast-developing harbourside district with the Back and Forth map from Hotel New York or SS Rotterdam. holland.com
