OMA: Timmerhuis

The most sustainable building in the Netherlands is a modular volume composed by small cellsstacked and staggered to create an impressive, complex form reminiscent of a large iceberg and reflecting the colors of the Rotterdam’s sky.

For Rotterdam’s Timmerhuis, a new building for the city hall that accommodates municipal services, offices, and residential units, OMA conceived a modular building with repeated units gradually set back from the street as they rise into two irregular peaks.

The building’s composition of smaller cells creates an impressive, complex form when viewed from Coolsingel, one of Rotterdam’s main arteries, and allows for subtlety and adaptability as the new building meets the Stadstimmerhuis (a municipal building, from 1953), which surrounds it on two sides.

OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Top: photo Ossip van Duivenbode. Above: photo Sebastian van Damme

The Timmerhuis’s innovative structural system generates maximum efficiency and versatility both in construction and in program: units can adapt to either office space or residential parameters as desired. Green terraces on higher levels provide the possibility of an apartment with a garden in the heart of urban Rotterdam. On the street level, the structure allows for generous open space, with modules overhanging rather than encroaching into an interstitial area, encouraging an active and open engagement between the Timmerhuis and the city. The design brief stipulated that the Timmerhuis must be the most sustainable building in the Netherlands. OMA tackled this imperative through the building’s core concept of flexibility, and also through the two large atriums, which act like lungs. They are connected to a climate system that stores warmth in summer and cold in winter and releases this energy as warm or cold air as required. The building’s triple glazed curtain wall facade uses hi-tech translucent insulation that allows for unprecedented energy efficiency. Rather than being yet another statement in Rotterdam’s crowded history of revisionist planning and cacophony of architectural styles, the ambiguous mass of the Timmerhuis tries to mediate between the existing buildings surrounding it. The axis between the existing town hall and the post office coincides with the axis of symmetry of the Timmerhuis, and the street between these two buildings continues into a passageway to the Haagseveer. The Timmerhuis integrates with the neighboring Stadtimmerhuis by maintaining the same floor heights, while the plinth height of 20m conforms to the character of the surrounding Laurenskwartier.

OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Ossip van Duivenbode
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Photo Sebastian van Damme
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Diagram
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Structure diagram
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Model structure
OMA, Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Model frame


Timmerhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Program: multifunctional building
Architects: OMA
Client: Stadsontwikkeling Rotterdam
Partner in charge: Reinier de Graaf
Associate in charge: Alex de Jong, Katrien van Dijk
Local architect, cost consultant: ABT
Process management: Brinkgroep BV
Structural engineer: Pieters Bouwtechniek
MEP engineer: Deerns Raadgevende Ingenieurs
Sustainability, building physics, acoustics, fire consultant, security: DGMR Bouw
Service engineers: Deerns, Burgers Ergon
Facades: Scheldbouw, Rollecate
Interior contractor: Keijsers Lundiform
Contractor: Heijmans
Budget: approx. €100 million
Site: 0.5 hectares
Completion: 2015