MVRDV’s bright orange rooftop walk opens to the public in rotterdam

MVRDV shows the potential of underused roofs

How do you solve the issue of land scarcity without encroaching on our natural environment? Build on existing rooftops says MVRDV. Yesterday on May 26th, the architecture firm opened its latest rooftop project, the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk. 30 meters high and 600 meters long, the temporary installation is offering visitors a new perspective of the Dutch city until June 24th.

The orange rooftop walk will host an extensive program with the goal of demonstrating the potential of our roofs. Work from artists, designers and architects will show how much is possible if we use our roofs efficiently for greenery, water storage, food production, and energy generation. Exhibits include a virtual village and a green design for the roof of Bijenkorf department store.

MVRDV says, ‘Rooftop programming can help with major issues such as climate change, the housing crisis, and the transition to renewable energy; the Rooftop Walk draws attention to these problems – making visitors more aware of the possibilities, especially in a city like Rotterdam where 18.5 km2 of flat roofs remains unused.’

image © Ossip Van Duivenbode

‘In 2016, for the celebration of 75 years of Rotterdam’s reconstruction, we designed the Stairs to Kriterion, which attracted almost 370,000 visitors. That’s when the idea arose that it would be good to make a sequel to the project,’ says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. ‘During the Eurovision Song Contest, the idea was to make a high stage to honour the winner, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic. I am glad that Rotterdam Rooftop Days have managed to achieve this, and I want to argue for a further sequel: we should not only occupy our roofs and make them greener but also connect them so that we can offer Rotterdammers a new rooftop park! For this, the orange carpet and the bridging of the Coolsingel are a nice initial test case.’

In its mission to showcase the potential of rooftops, MVRDV has also designed a vibrant pink platform for the roof of Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, which will open on June 1st.

The concept and design for Rotterdam Rooftop Walk was developed by MVRDV together with Rotterdam Rooftop Days. Built by Dutch Steigers, the installation is open from May 26th to June 24th from 10:00 to 20:00.

image © Ossip Van Duivenbode