OMA: de rotterdam due to open later this year

‘de rotterdam’ by OMA, the netherlandsall images courtesy of building de rotterdam

soon to be the largest building in the netherlands, OMA‘s design for de rotterdam is soon to be completed. the three interconnected towers are conceived as a vertical city. it is estimated that an international team of construction workers will spend 6,400,000 hours to complete the building; a fact documented in a photo series by local photographer ruud sies as part of the building de rotterdam initiative. the photo archive will culminate in a publication of 4 years worth of documentation– primarily of day-to-day processes and people instrumental in the realization of the monumental work. the construction views reiterate the building as a powerful symbol of progress and reframe the project as an ‘exalted witness of the creativity of mankind,’ according to the photographer. the gradual accretion of complexity in the architecture is particularly prevalent in the in-process images. the remarkable mix of functions and programs in the building on the river maas make for a highly anticipated opening later this year. 

see designboom’s previous coverage here.

chief architect speaks about the project video © al jazeera

a snowy view of winter at de rotterdamimage © ruud sies

image © ruud sies

winter at de rotterdam image © ruud sies

week number 43 of construction image © ruud sies

‘de rotterdam’ by OMA, the netherlands image © ruud sies

‘de rotterdam’ by OMA, the netherlands image © ruud sies

roof view image courtesy of building the rotterdam

the towers are close to completion image courtesy of building de rotterdam

the endeavor is a multi-national effort image © ruud sies

a view with three floors left to go image © ruud sies

image © ruud sies

in-process images show the sheer amount of human effort required of the building process image © ruud sies

rotterdam views image © ruud sies

image courtesy of building the rotterdam

cladding detail image © ruud sies

(left): exterior views (right): scaffolding perspective image © ruud sies

(left): view of the erasmus bridge(right): the city from the site image © ruud sies

view of the city through the west towerimage © ruud sies

view from the west tower image © ruud sies

dusk light shines on the construction site image courtesy of building de rotterdam

night view image courtesy of building de rotterdam

the site at the beginning of the project images courtesy of building de rotterdam

street view of the nearly completed de rotterdamimages courtesy of building de rotterdam

different formal iterations of the model images courtesy of building de rotterdam