World’s largest Floating Office Rotterdam, Rijnhaven harbor, Netherlands Building Photos, Dutch Architecture

Floating Office Rotterdam

7 September 2021

photograph : Sebastian van Damme

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands alongside Ban Ki-moon and Kristalina Georgieva today inaugurated the Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR).

2 Sep 2020

Architecture: Powerhouse Company

Location: Rijnhaven harbor, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

A Floating Foundation for the Future : Floating Office Rotterdam Hits the Water

World’s largest Floating Office Building

Photos by Sebastian van Damme, unless noted otherwise

Rotterdam, 2nd of September, 2020 – The world’s largest floating office, Floating Office Rotterdam, has taken a giant step toward its completion. On Monday, 31 August, the huge floating structure, measuring 90 by 24 meters, arrived at its permanent berth in Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven harbor, having been towed there all the way from Zaandam, over 80 kilometers away.

The Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR), designed by architecture office Powerhouse Company and developed by RED Company, is a building for a new era. Completely reusable and recyclable, it’s an example of circular design. Off grid and carbon-neutral, it will float if water levels rise due to climate change.

video still by Marcel IJzerman

The floating office will reflect the values of its future inhabitants: the Global Center on Adaptation. This Rotterdam based NGO promotes planning, investment and technology to mitigate climate change. The climate-resilient office is therefore both an illustration of the center’s mission and an inspiration for others. With its own solar energy source and water-based heat-exchange system, it’s completely self-sufficient.

Built entirely of timber, to minimize its carbon footprint, the FOR building has three stories and is accessed via a boardwalk. It will make use of natural energy thanks to 800 square meters of solar panels. It will also use the water from the Rijnhaven for cooling.

video still by Marcel IJzerman

Overhanging balconies around each floor plus a pitched roof will provide shade. FOR will also feature public facilities: a restaurant with a large outdoor terrace and a swimming pool, adding new life to the harbor area.

The arriving of the floating foundations completes the first milestone of the project. After its voyage through the Dutch waterways, on entrance to the Rijnhaven harbor from the River Maas, the port authority gave the floating foundations a nautical salute – a fitting welcome for this futuristic, fun and functional example of sustainable architecture. Over the coming months the building will be further constructed and finalised here.

video still by Marcel IJzerman

Designing a sustainable, floating office building was a challenging commission, and we approached it holistically.

Nanne de Ru, founder Powerhouse Company

The building structure is designed in wood and can easily be demounted and re-used. It’s ready for the circular economy.

Paul Sanders, project architect Powerhouse Company

About Powerhouse Company

Powerhouse Company is an award-winning architecture office based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 2005, it has since grown into a multidisciplinary office of around 100 professionals, with international studios in Beijing, Oslo and Munich. Along the way it has won a number of prizes, including the Dutch Design Award, the Maaskant Prize and the AM/NAI Award.

video still by Marcel IJzerman