Following the works of Siza and Piano, Foster and Mecanoo, another piece is added to the ever-evolving urban mosaic of Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, a former industrial pier on the southern bank of the River Nieuwe Maas that has been converted over the decades into an open-air museum of high-rise architecture. The latter addition is by MVRDV, which has designed The Sax: a multifunctional macro-structure inspired by the shape of a saxophone, expressing the effervescent and dynamic (and therefore somewhat jazzy) soul of the city.
The complex, whose construction began with the laying of the first pile on 28 October and is expected to be completed in 2030, is designed, in true Mvrdv style, as a “’cross-section” of the city in vertical, in the sign of functional mixité: covering an area of 96,350 square metres, the complex will include 916 apartments, commercial spaces, restaurants, sports and mobility services, making Wilhelminapier the most densely built area in the Netherlands.
The building consists of two residential towers (“Havana”, 180 metres, 55 floors, and “Philadelphi”, 82 metres, 26 floors, with names evocative of distant destinations reached by ships historically departing from the port), joined by a golden horizontal structure housing six floors of residential units and a roof terrace at a height of 100 metres, accessible to all residents. On the façade, a pattern of bow windows and undulating balconies, progressively accentuated towards the top, creates vibrant plays of light that change throughout the day, tempering the cyclopean mass of the building.
“With 916 homes, The Sax represents a significant densification for the city. The Wilhelminapier will be the most densely built-up area in the Netherlands, in addition to its interesting architectural character”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “Above all, The Sax will be a vibrant and distinctive building that will be a beautiful addition to the pier’s skyline. The varying angles will allow the light to fall differently on the metal facade, so the building will change colour with the time of day. The gradual transition from bottom to top makes The Sax, despite its size, both robust and soft – just as a musician can both shred on the saxophone as well as playing it subtly and softly”.
In keeping with with the robust Dutch urban culture of collective, subsidised and social housing, the complex offers a wide variety of housing types: of the 916 flats, 94 are owner-occupied and 822 are rented, half of which fall within the rent-controlled market segment. Common areas distributed across all levels, as well as on the panoramic terrace, offer opportunities for socialising, among breathtaking views of the river and “jammin' sessions” of community life.