
Type

De Coopvaert
Location
Rotterdam
Client
Dura-Ballast Nedam Plein 1940 VOF, Rotterdam
Year
2006
Status
Completed
Program
Housing, Offices, Commercial plinth with restaurant
De Coopvaert
In a historically significant location along the Rotterdam Wijnhaven, the slender De Coopvaert tower is the culmination of the building block on the corner of Blaak and Plein 1940. It is at the foot of “De Vernielde Stad”, a masterpiece by the Russian sculptor O. Zadkine. The building presents a strong combination of vertical elements, made out of sand-coloured prefab concrete elements, topped by a crown of white marble elements. This gives the top of the tower a radiant snow-white appearance. The leitmotif of verticality is carried through minutely in the façade composition. The façades are divided into high, narrow planes, split up by the protruding bay window sections, and the revolving windows, doors and balustrades are arranged in a strictly vertical pattern as well. The façade on Blaak is supported by three slender 30-m-high columns, provided to maintain a view of the remarkable rounded corner of the monumental former Incassobank building. The entrances are situated behind. The lowest levels contain office space, above which is a solid transitional structure for storage and plant, with 119 apartments above that on the ninth to the thirtieth storey. To invoke interaction between the different users of the building, there is a shared doorman for the housing and offices. A separate block for parking is situated at the rear, reached from the tower by a walkway.






