Finalist Designs Unveiled for Planned Climate Action ‘Landmark’ in Rotterdam
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Last May, Dutch social venture Shift announced that five finalist teams—pulled from a pool of 80 submissions—had been selected to move forward to the next stage of an international architecture competition seeking concepts for a “cultural landmark” specifically designed to inspire climate action: MVRDV, Mecanoo, Heatherwick Studio, Ecosistema Urbano, and Andrés Jaque’s Office for Political Innovation. (Two of the non-Dutch contenders, Heatherwick Studio and Madrid-based Ecosistema Urbano, had been preselected as participants to “signal the range and caliber of desired talent to key stakeholders” while the remaining shortlisted firms, two Dutch and one Spanish, were selected through the open competition).
Today, each of the Shift Landmark proposals submitted by the five finalists have been revealed. All of them respond to a specific site secured by Shift in Waterkant, a nascent district in Rotterdam. Built around a new tidal park and emphasizing climate resiliency, Waterkant, when complete, will include nearly 4,000 new housing units, cultural and sports venues, a new train station, and more. Ultimately, Shift plans to commission and finance similar Landmark projects on every continent, beginning the climate-centered program on its home turf partially due to the fact that low-lying Rotterdam is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Living Landmark, Ecosistema. Image courtesy Ecosistema, Shift
The brief for the proposed Rotterdam project, described by Shift as a “new world wonder,” envisions a space between approximately 270,000 and 323,000 square feet that incorporates a hotel, food court, meeting space, and a sizable immersive art experience. The resulting proposals are all, not surprisingly, wild sounding. The Ecosistema Urbano concept, titled Living Landmark, proposes a building conceived as a “regenerative living system that operates as a dynamic social organism integrating public space, ecological performance, and civic life.” Called Urban Reef, the Heatherwick-led team’s proposal envisions a building “built from six layers of activity that support one another like a reef-inspired ecosystem.” From Mecanoo comes House of Shift, an “aspiring icon for sustainability that places bold upcycling, carbon storage, energy neutrality, and ecological integration at its core.” Hometown firm MVRDV’s concept, Rotterdam Rocks, is a “stacked landscape of living rocks that turns architecture into a regenerative, urban ecosystem and a new landmark for the city.” Lastly, Planetary Landmark for the Climate Age by Office for Political Innovation proposes a landmark that’s “not a monument but a working section through the world as it is becoming—a place where climate is sensed, understood, and actively reshaped, together.”
Urban Reef, Heatherwick Studio. Image courtesy Heatherwick Studio, Shift
House of Shift, Mecanoo. Image courtesy Mecanoo, Shift
The idea is that companies and organizations will host events and retreats at Shift Landmark, which has reportedly secured an investment of 240 million euros, that support “future thinking.” Shift founder Don Ritzen elaborates in a press statement: “Shift aims to turn climate action into something people can experience. By combining art, architecture, innovation, and education, the Landmark is designed to make a circular future visible, tangible, and irresistibly compelling, giving millions a clear pathway from inspiration to action.”
Rotterdam Rocks, MVRDV. Image courtesy MVDRV, Shift
With each of the five designs for Rotterdam’s Shift Landmark now public, the 11-person competition jury, which includes Zaha Hadid Foundation director Aric Chen and Dutch actress and activist Clarice van Houten, will begin its evaluations ahead of selecting a winning proposal to be announced later this spring. That design will then undergo public review. Each of the five firms in the running will receive 40,000 euros for their work while the winning team will be awarded with an additional prize of 50,000 euros.
