Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR)

FOR is a vision of what sustainable architecture can be. A modular, timber building on a floating platform, with a deceptive simplicity. It combines many high-tech sustainable solutions – including a water-cooling system and solar panels – with low-tech ones, such as the passive shading provided by the pitched roof and overhanging terraces. The combination of these various solutions is an innovative take on sustainable architecture and results in a building that is natural and unforced. The wood construction, green roof, and clarity of design create an architecture that is friendly and human, rather than high-tech. In this way, FOR sets the tone for the transformation of the Rotterdam Rijnhaven port – now becoming a lively residential area. Adding to the new vibe are FOR’s own restaurant Putaine and harbor swimming pool.

The Floating Office Rotterdam houses three offices, including the new home of Powerhouse Company. We occupy half of the ground floor and the second floor, about 1600 m2 in total. To feel at home in our office, we organized workshops with team leaders to ensure their input and opinions. We put all ideas on the table to create the right program. One of most requested features was the quiet booth – a silent place to focus and work. Other popular demands include places to display work in progress – we obliged with moveable magnetic walls that can migrate around the office – and meeting spaces. To four meeting rooms we added informal, open meeting areas and a beautiful company restaurant. The ground floor beautifully opens up to the outdoor terrace.

While our ground floor space is devoted to social areas, including the reception, restaurant, and meeting rooms, the upper floor is a place of more introverted inspiration. Here, our workspaces have energizing views and our libraries are full of ideas – one for books and another for materials. An oiled oak staircase connects the two levels. Throughout the interior, the simple modular structure of FOR is always the main visual feature and gives the space its serene quality. The beams feature a gray coating, intended to prevent uneven coloration caused by sunlight, while the ceiling is softly reflective aluminium throughout. In the materials library, pink translucent panels are lit top and bottom to create a magical glowing effect. Museum-quality design – some of it displayed on trestles from the building’s construction – add extra creative stimulation.

Our building’s floating foundation – its concrete pontoon – needed to be constructed offsite at three separate locations, then put together and finally towed through the bridge leading to the Rijnhaven. This determined the maximum dimensions of our building and was the reason that we opted for a long, horizontal design. As the building was to be circular, its structure needed to be simple and demountable, so we based the architecture on a 6-meter grid throughout. The wooden elements too were constructed offsite and towed to the port. These basic facts – we preferred not to see them as limitations – inspired our pragmatic design. The final result is rational, elegant, and down to earth. Carefully concealing the installations ensured that both in and outside the building is streamlined: graceful, and seemingly effortless.