Foxhole, a residence designed by Amsterdam-based Studio Vincent Architecture occupies a threshold condition. Set on the border of Abcoude, in the newly developed De Winkelbuurt neighborhood, the residence takes a step back from the street, introducing itself through a courtyard framed by two abstract forms. One holds the living quarters, the other a pared-down entrance volume, sealed to the road. The spatial pause between them serves as a kind of exhale, filtering the shift from public street to private garden. At dusk, light from the western horizon reaches deep inside.

The home takes shape through a pairing of asymmetrical geometries. The main house sits low and long behind a canal, while its companion structure hugs the edge of the road with a solid face. Together, they define a protected zone that simultaneously welcomes and withdraws. Along the facade, tall pivoting doors can be thrown open, turning the boundary into a passage. Despite the density of the surrounding development, the home finds its own rhythm through this interplay of mass and movement.

images © Jeremy Piret

inside the foxhole residence

Studio Vincent Architecture’s Foxhole residence unfolds internally with a kind of spatial looseness. On the ground floor, a central cabinet wall does the work of traditional partitions, carving out living areas while maintaining a clear visual connection between them. This organizing core brings attention to the kitchen, which appears immediately upon entry. Around it, the open-plan living and dining rooms slide out toward the garden, their generous glass openings responding directly to the house’s stepped siting.

The architects approach the upper floor with a sensitivity to human proportions. Custom built-in storage is wrapped in the same finishes as the walls, dissolving the boundaries between surface and structure. Rooflines slant inward, yet the space opens up rather than compresses. The abstraction of the pitched ceiling gathers daylight and holds it, softening the edges of the compact rooms while drawing attention to the physical presence of the materials.

the house sits between two abstract volumes that create a private courtyard away from the street

studio vincent architecture’s design strategies

Studio Vincent Architecture shapes its Foxhole residence with energy consciousness at its core. The structure is wrapped in thick layers of thermal insulation, serviced by a heat pump, and ventilated through heat recovery systems that preserve warmth without sacrificing fresh air. Its roof is embedded with twenty-six solar panels, flush with the surface, quietly generating more electricity than the house consumes. These decisions are carefully coordinated with the architecture’s orientation, which offers controlled exposures and framed views.

Foxhole adapts to its context with a split personality. Facing the neighborhood, it echoes the familiar silhouette of a pitched roof, anchoring itself among traditional houses. Along the side that meets open land, the roofline folds and cuts, releasing a more experimental outline. The asymmetry allows the building to engage different worlds at once — residential order on one side, open expanse on the other — without flattening into a single gesture.

The home’s floor plan informs its relationship with the land. The pentagonal footprint is not an arbitrary move, but a means to balance light, view, and privacy within a tight parcel. It responds to the canal, the street, and the sun with equal weight. The geometry shelters, but it also opens, making the house feel embedded rather than imposed.

large pivoting doors allow the closed entrance building to open onto the garden

a central cabinet on the ground floor replaces interior walls to create fluid, connected spaces

the upper floor uses built-in furniture and aligned finishes to create a unified flow

the kitchen is placed at the heart of the plan with clear sightlines from the entry

rooflines and material heights are scaled to the human body for spatial comfort

living and dining areas open to the garden through sliding windows that extend the interior outward

project info:

name: Foxhole

architecture: Studio Vincent Architecture | @studiovincentarchitecture

location: Abcoude, The Netherlands

structural engineer: De Ingenieursgroep
contractor: Bouwbedrijf Bon

completion: 2024

photography: © Jeremy Piret | @jeremypiret

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With a radical new proposal by Danish maritime architecture studio MAST, Rotterdam’s Spoorweghaven neighborhood is poised for a transformation. In the heart of a disused dock just southeast of the city center, the team envisions a floating community. Together with locally-based contractor BIK bouw, the prefabricated, modular project will bring over one hundred apartments supported by public green space, moorings, commercial units and a new harbor for leisure. It’s a plan informed by its local context and scaled to continental ambition, making Spoorweghaven the largest floating housing development ever proposed in Europe.

The proposal reflects the spatial pressures faced by cities throughout the Netherlands. Confronted with the need to produce a million new homes within the decade, and with little vacant land left to build on, the country is turning to its most abundant resource: water. MAST’s design responds with a flexible model for growth that bypasses the ecological cost of dredging or land reclamation. In Spoorweghaven, can expand its housing stock without erasing the harbor’s identity.

visualizations © Slimstudio

A porous and participatory landscape

MAST’s floating community at Spoorweghaven will blend into Rotterdam’s existing fabric by bicycle and by boat. The site plan extends local cycling routes and introduces new blue corridors of transport, creating seamless links between land and water. The design incorporates bridges at both ends of the dock, enabling pedestrian access to floating walkways, public piers, and bicycle storage. These threads reweave the harbor into the city’s daily flow, restoring continuity to a once-isolated stretch of waterfront.

The project is imagined as a layered civic space. Communal gardens, floating parks, and shared roof terraces are arranged to encourage both quiet retreat and spontaneous gathering. The architecture withdraws in places to give room for the harbor to remain visible and accessible. Rather than cordon off the water, the project draws it in, inviting it to become part of the everyday social fabric.

Rotterdam will see the construction of Europe’s largest floating housing development

Prefabrication for low-impact urbanism

MAST’s plans for Spoorweghaven will also support aquatic life of Rotterdam. In collaboration with Biomatrix, MAST will install over 900 square meters of floating reedbeds along the harbor’s perimeter. These islands act as natural filters, removing pollutants from the water while forming habitats for birds, fish and invertebrates. The design contributes to the city’s broader ecological network, showing how architecture on water can become an engine for environmental repair.

Once underway, construction will take shape off-site. MAST’s floating structures will be built of CLT and assembled away from the dock before being floated into place. This prefabricated method drastically reduces construction noise, traffic and material waste in the neighborhood. It also allows for reversibility: the homes can be relocated or dismantled entirely if the conditions of the site change. Such adaptability is at the core of MAST’s strategy for circular design.

the project will bring over 100 apartments with public and commercial spaces

Spoorweghaven addresses the housing crisis with a water-based urban solution by MAST

the design includes floating gardens, walkways, and shared terraces

floating reedbeds will enhance biodiversity in Spoorweghaven

project info:

name: Spoorweghaven

architect: MAST | @MAST_denmark

location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

contractor: BIK bouw | @bik_bouw

visualizations: © Slimstudio | @slimstudio.eu

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A new exhibition at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Ma Yansong: Architecture and Emotion, debuts alongside the long-anticipated opening of the MAD-designed Fenix Museum of Migration. During the exhibition’s opening, designboom spoke with Aric Chen, General and Artistic Director of the Nieuwe Instituut and curator of the show.

‘With the opening of Fenix here in Rotterdam, it was a great chance to finally do an exhibition together,’ Chen tells designboom. ‘Ma and I have had quite a number of conversations, both formally and informally. I always felt like we needed to continue it. I was always left wanting more.’ This exhibition continues that dialogue, assembling MAD’s early speculations and recent large-scale works into a spatial and emotional journey.

images © Ossip van Duivenbode (unless otherwise stated)

Tracing Origins in a Rapidly Changing China

The Rotterdam exhibition Ma Yansong: Architecture and Emotion begins by anchoring MAD’s origin story in the formative years of independent architectural practice in China. ‘There were no private architecture firms allowed until the 1990s,’ explains Aric Chen of the Nieuwe Instituut. ‘Ma is part of that second generation of Chinese architects. It’s really remarkable to see how quickly things took off.’

A central installation expands upon MAD’s 2008 publication MAD Dinner, a document of creative gatherings the founders held during China’s early 2000s building boom. These interdisciplinary salons gave rise to speculative urban visions — a Tiananmen Square reimagined as a park, an aquarium seen through the perspective of a fish — which now appear in model form, offering insight into the studio’s earliest attempts to reframe public space and identity.

MAD opens its first solo museum exhibition in over a decade at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam

ma yansong’s Fenix as Cultural Anchor

Among the most anticipated works on view is MAD’s design for the Fenix Museum of Migration, the newly opened museum in Rotterdam dedicated to global migration stories. Fenix features the Tornado, a swirling, double-helix stair that lifts visitors through the atrium of a historic warehouse to a rooftop observatory. The Tornado connects the ground to the sky, but also history to the present.

It’s MAD’s first cultural building in Europe, and its role is deeply symbolic, especially given the museum’s context in Katendrecht, once one of the first Chinatowns of continental Europe. The exhibition offers detailed insight into the design of Fenix as a built manifestation of MAD’s evolving interest in architecture as a vessel for memory.

the exhibition coincides with the completion of MAD’s nearby Fenix Museum of Migration

MAD’s longstanding engagement with shanshui — the classical Chinese worldview in which landscape, city, and spirit cohere — remains a thread throughout the show. ‘Shan Shui painting was a big influence on Ma for a certain point,’ Chen continues. ‘The studio has since moved on, but the relevance of that is still really important for understanding the firm’s work today.’

Rather than presenting shanshui as a metaphor or motif, the exhibition shows how the philosophy permeates form-making, whether in the land-integrated design of Quzhou Sports Park or in the undulating mass of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.

Aric Chen curates the exhibition to reflect two decades of MAD’s emotionally-driven architecture

The exhibition’s title, Architecture and Emotion, invites viewers to consider architecture as more than a functional or aesthetic exercise. ‘Emotion is not something that we, here in this part of the world, are used to thinking about when we talk about architecture,’ says Chen. ‘But with MAD, emotions are very much connected with the idea of nature.’ The Nieuwe Instituut’s interest in climate resilience and spatial justice finds unexpected alignment in MAD’s emphasis on sensory experience and cultural memory, positioning the exhibition as a counterpoint to more techno-rational design narratives.

The selection of projects, Chen noted, leans toward recent and ongoing work, but also draws attention to the studio’s cross-cultural approach. ‘We always want to bring other cultural perspectives into the conversation,’ he says. ‘What Ma and MAD really do is provide that other schema or worldview for looking at space and how we experience it.’ From Beijing to Los Angeles, Paris to Rotterdam, MAD’s projects resist a singular national identity.

MAD’s early years are presented through models and materials from its 2008 publication MAD Dinner

emotion is presented as a primary design force linking people, nature, and space across cultures

Shan Shui philosophy continues to influence MAD’s organic and landscape-integrated architecture

projects like the Lucas Museum and One River North demonstrate MAD’s design language

project info:

name: Ma Yansong: Architecture & Emotion

museum: Nieuwe Instituut | @nieuweinstituut

architecture: MAD | @madarchitects

location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

opening: May 16th, 2025

photography: © designboom, © Ossip van Duivenbode | @ossipvanduivenbode

The post ma yansong: architecture and emotion traces MAD’s creative journey at the nieuwe instituut appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Monadnock Architects unveils Volante, a social housing building which occupies a slender footprint within the Nieuw-Zuid redevelopment in the Dutch city of Hilversum. Here, porch flats and generous greenery shape a legacy of postwar urban planning. On a site previously occupied by a residential-care facility, this new social housing project completes an ensemble of five structures, introducing density while honoring the open qualities of the neighborhood. The structure’s position atop a parking garage required precision in planning, resulting in a carefully calibrated relationship between height, massing, and light.

Volante is designed as two joined volumes, aligned lengthwise to nestle between existing buildings while preserving access to daylight and sightlines. At the center, a circular atrium provides orientation and light, anchoring the corridors that lead to each unit. Though compact, the apartments benefit from this shared interior rhythm, with circulation treated as an architectural space rather than a means to an end.

images © Stijn Bollaert

playful geometries mark volante’s entrance

With the design of its Volante project, Monadnock Architects takes a pragmatic yet expressive approach to facade design. Long elevations are animated by a steady cadence of vertical piers and horizontal bands, realized in brickwork that feels both familiar and carefully wrought. Rather than apply decorative treatments, the architects embedded richness into the construction itself. Shaped bricks form junctions with a quiet attention to detail, creating shadows and texture that reward close observation.

The main entrance distinguishes itself through a palette of glazed bricks in deep, contrasting tones. Openings shift in scale and shape, inviting movement through a slightly abstracted gateway. This deliberate formal variation signals a break from the repetitive housing block, asserting the address as a shared front door and a marker of arrival within the neighborhood’s internal rhythm.

Volante is part of a densification effort in the Dutch city of Hilversum

Monadnock Architects’ Optimistic Details

Monadnock Architects use the terminal walls of Volante to define its urban role beyond the immediate site. These gable-like end facades are more than closures — they operate as signals, visible from afar, and carry a subtle figuration that punctuates the building’s linear volume. In a district that balances visual openness with increasing density, these gestures give character without demanding attention.

There’s a distinct clarity to Volante’s expression that reflects a belief in the dignity of housing. Materials are robust, but their assembly conveys levity. The ochres and reds of the brickwork catch changing light with warmth, while the building’s quiet symmetry offers a sense of order amid the trees and neighboring facades. It is a structure that looks settled, yet quietly ambitious.

The architecture resists the urge to impose a singular identity. Instead, its strength lies in how fluently it completes a larger composition. Densification here does not compete with the inherited character of Hilversum’s greenery or mid-century fabric. The building draws on these cues, integrating new residents into a context with care and continuity.

the main entrance is marked by glazed bricks and geometric openings that establish identity

the brick facade features vertical piers and horizontal bands that create depth and rhythm

end facades are designed as urban markers visible from a distance

the use of color and tactility brings warmth and optimism to the residential experience

specially-shaped bricks add texture and refinement throughout building

a circular atrium serves as the central organizing space for the compact apartments

project info:

name: Volante

architecture: Monadnock Architects | @monadnock.architects

location: Nieuw-Zuid, Hilversum, The Netherlands

floor area: 8,032 square meters
completion: December 2024

photography: © Stijn Bollaert | @stijn_bollaert

lead architects: Job Floris, Sandor Naus
team: Marta Cendra, Michael Maminski, Filippo Gallone, Matéo White, Blanka Major
project architect: Sandor Naus

client: Dudok Wonen | @dudokwonen
contractor: Hegeman | @hegemanbv
construction engineer: IAA Architects
structural engineer: Schreuders
MEP engineer: InnQ Installations
building physics engineer: Alcedo
landscape architect: Hosper Landscape Architecture | @hosper_landschapsarchitectuur
urban planner: Moke Architecten | @moke_architecten

prefab concrete stairs: Hop prefab
steel stairs and balustrades: Krepla
elevators: Schindler Elevators
main entrance floor, walls: Winckelmans
common area floor: Marmoleum, Forbo Flooring
windowframes manufacturer: Kawneer
windowframes balustrades facades, supplier: Rollecate
interior frames, doors: Berkvens
facade cladding, brick: Klinkerwerk Iking | @klinkerwerk_iking
facade cladding, glazed bricks: Dijkstra Frisian Earthenware | @dijkstrakleiwaren
aluminium cladding: Voskamp

The post playful geometries dot monadnock’s colorful ‘volante’ social housing in the netherlands appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

On May 16, 2025, Rotterdam officially opens Fenix, a museum dedicated to the art and stories of migration, marking MAD’s first cultural building in Europe. Ahead of the public opening, designboom attends the preview of the museum, experiencing the space firsthand and speaking with architect Ma Yansong on site. Set within a 1923 port warehouse in the historic Katendrecht district of the city, Fenix is the result of architectural ambition and emotional gravity (find designboom’s previous coverage here). For MAD, the building is not just a container but a living environment shaped by movement, reflection, and encounter. ‘When you see the light and the people in the building, it really makes a difference,’ Ma Yansong tells us. ‘Before, that was only in the imagination. Now I realize this is a device for people’s movement and for meeting each other.’

The project is a milestone in the regeneration of Rotterdam’s waterfront and reflects the layered history of the site, once the departure point for millions of emigrants crossing the Atlantic. During his visit to the neighborhood, Ma sensed a deeper yearning from the community. ‘In people’s hearts, they wanted a lighthouse,’ he says. ‘They need a spiritual space, a symbol of their generation, or the older generation, or their next generation.’ For him, Fenix is ‘half architecture, half art.’ The Tornado, a dramatic double-helix staircase, crowns the Fenix museum. This centerpiece pierces through the old warehouse and flows upward, culminating in a rooftop platform, offering views of the River Maas and Hotel New York—the former headquarters of the Holland America Line. It’s a sculptural expression of movement and transformation, anchoring the museum in both a physical and symbolic manner. ‘The people’s behavior and reactions complete the work,’ he adds during our walkthrough. ‘Otherwise, it’s just a staircase.’

Rotterdam officially opens Fenix | image by Iwan Baan

a double spiral staircase tops the 1923 port warehouse

‘I saw this really big, heavy concrete building,’ Ma Yansong, founder of international architecture firm MAD, shares with designboom, referring to the original structure. ‘It’s monumental, and from the outside it’s really long and horizontal. My first instinct was to do something vertical, so you can recognize this is something different.’ He explains that the spiraling form of the staircase that tops the museum was essential. ‘There are two connected spirals, so the structure becomes self-supporting. This was essential to avoid columns in the middle. And then it becomes an experience.’ As visitors ascend the Tornado, it becomes a narrative, reflecting their own journeys. ‘You almost see your reflection as yourself traveling through time, always reflecting, borrowing the color, the light from the surroundings,’ he says.

As public and cultural buildings evolve, he comments, ‘public buildings, cultural buildings, will be spaces that bring more people together—not just one’s self.’  That principle shapes every part of Fenix, from its freely accessible ground floor to its soaring Tornado staircase. 

the museum is dedicated to the art and stories of migration | image by Iwan Baan

three major inaugural exhibitions explore migration

Three major exhibitions that reflect on migration through contemporary art, photography, and personal testimony mark the museum’s opening. All Directions brings together over 150 works from global artists, including Bill Viola, Yinka Shonibare, Rineke Dijkstra, and Steve McQueen, alongside newly commissioned pieces by Beya Gille Gacha, Hugo McCloud, and others that explore migration as a personal, lived experience. These works are not displayed in isolation, they’re meant to be experienced, moved through, and reflected in. That principle is embedded in the curatorial approach, as personal stories are intertwined with historical objects. A fragment of the Berlin Wall, a Lampedusa migrant boat, and a 1923 Nansen passport bridge individual journeys with collective memory. The Family of Migrants, inspired by Edward Steichen’s iconic The Family of Man, presents 194 photographs by 136 photographers from 55 countries. Finally, The Suitcase Labyrinth is an immersive installation built from 2,000 donated suitcases—some century-old heirlooms, others recently packed for new lives abroad. As visitors navigate the maze, an audio tour reveals intimate migration stories layered between the luggage.

this centerpiece is clad in 297 polished stainless-steel panels | image © designboom

a cultural landmark rooted in community

Beyond its galleries, Fenix functions as a cultural hub. The 2,275-square-meter Plein on the ground floor acts as a free, indoor city square, hosting performances, community gatherings, and global food explorations. Culinary highlights include a bakery by Michelin-starred Turkish chef Maksut Aşkar and a waterfront gelateria by the Granucci family, a nod to Rotterdam’s multicultural makeup.

Funded by the Droom en Daad Foundation, Fenix is a future-forward institution rooted in a city shaped by migration. ‘Migraton stories are the heartbeat of Fenix. We’ve woven them into every element – whether it’s the magic of Ma Yansong’s architecture, the memories evoked by the artworks on display, the freely accessible Plein, or the gelateria by the Granucci family,’ highlights Fenix director Anne Kremers. ‘We want everyone to feel welcome.’

Fenix Rotterdam and Rijnhaven with L’Áge d’Or by Gavin Turk | image by Iris van den Broek

the Tornado, a dramatic double-helix staircase, crowns the museum | image by Iwan Baan

anchoring the museum in both a physical and symbolic manner | image © designboom

its twisting shape echoes the flow of migration | image © designboom

a rooftop platform offers views of the River Maas and Hotel New York | image by Iwan Baan

a sculptural expression of movement and transformation | image by Iwan Baan

Fenix opens with three major exhibitions

reflecting on migration through contemporary art, photography, and personal testimony | image © Titia Hahne

these artworks are interwoven with objects of memory | image by Iwan Baan

The Family of Migrants is inspired by Edward Steichen’s The Family of Man | image by Iwan Baan

project info:

name: Fenix Museum of Migration | @Fenix

architect: MAD | @madarchitects
collaborators: Bureau Polderman, Droom en Daad Foundation

location: Rotterdam, Netherlands


previous coverage: November 2023, October 2024, January 2025

photographers: Iwan Baan | @iwanbaan, Iris van den Broek | @eyerisshots, Titia Hahne | @titiahahnephoto

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German photographer David Altrath delivers a visual narrative of one of architectural modernism’s most radical dwellings—the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht, Netherlands. Designed in 1924 by Gerrit Rietveld for the Dutch socialite Truus Schröder-Schräder, the home stands as a three-dimensional manifesto of the De Stijl movement. Through Altrath’s crisp compositions, the series offers a fresh perspective on a house that, over a century later, still feels like it belongs to the future.

all images by David Altrath

de stijl’s legacy lives on in utrecht

Altrath’s images reveal the innovative structure of the residence, drawing attention to the relationship formed by the lines, planes, and bold primary colors that compose its visual language. With no fixed corners, sliding panels, and jutting planes, Rietveld dissolves the divide between inside and outside. Altrath casts his lens on this interplay of openness with precision, letting light and shadow animate the architecture’s geometric rigor.

The adaptable interior layout of the Rietveld Schröder House, where walls move and rooms shift to accommodate daily life, comes alive through Altrath’s series. His shots focus on the architectural decisions that challenged the rigid domestic norms of the 1920s, instead proposing a flexible, living architecture rooted in abstraction, freedom, and clarity. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the dwelling is one of the few built expressions of De Stijl principles in architecture. 

David Altrath delivers a visual narrative of one of architectural modernism’s most radical dwellings

the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was designed in 1924 by Gerrit Rietveld

the home stands as a three-dimensional manifesto of the De Stijl movement

the series offers a fresh perspective on a house

even a century later, the house still feels ahead of its time

Altrath’s images reveal the innovative structure of the residence

lines, planes, and bold primary colors compose the visual language

The Red and Blue chair by Gerrit Rietveld

the chair was in 1917

the Zig-Zag Chair in red

the residence is one of the few built expressions of De Stijl principles in architecture

project info:

name: Rietveld Schröder House
photographer: David Altrath | @davidaltrath

architect: Gerrit Rietveld

location: Utrecht, Netherlands

The post step inside a de stijl icon through david altrath’s images of the rietveld schröder house appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Netherlands presents its pavilion, developed by RAU Architects, at Expo 2025 Osaka under the theme ‘Common Ground.’ Designed according to circular principles, the structure serves as a platform for knowledge exchange and international cooperation, with a focus on energy transition and environmental sustainability. Over a six-month period, the pavilion is set to host programming aimed at facilitating collaboration between Dutch and Japanese organizations across business, research, and policy.

The pavilion’s design draws on the Netherlands’ historical and spatial relationship with water. Large parts of the country lie below sea level, necessitating a long-standing tradition of collaboration in water management. The concept of ‘Common Ground’ extends this ethos to a global scale, emphasizing collective responsibility in addressing finite resources and planetary boundaries. The pavilion integrates principles of the circular economy, highlighting material reuse, adaptability, and systems thinking in the built environment.

all images by Zhu Yumeng

undulating slats envelop central luminous ‘rising sun’

The structure is designed and constructed by AND BV, a Dutch-Japanese consortium that includes architecture firm RAU Architects, engineering consultancy DGMR, design studio Tellart, and Japanese construction company Asanuma Corporation. The pavilion takes the form of a rectangular volume, with a prominent central luminous sphere symbolizing renewable energy, specifically hydropower.

The facade features undulating slats designed to reference the motion of water. Their combined length totals 425 meters, referencing the 425-year-long relationship between the Netherlands and Japan. All materials used in the construction are cataloged in Madaster, a digital platform for material registration that supports circular construction by enabling reuse and transparency. The pavilion is designed for disassembly and relocation. After the Expo concludes, it will be dismantled and reconstructed in a different context, extending its lifecycle and preventing material waste.

main facade evening

Netherlands pavilion’s form symbolizes circular design

Visitors enter the pavilion and receive a small, illuminated object that interacts with various installations throughout the interior. The exhibition content focuses on historical and contemporary collaborations between the Netherlands and Japan, with particular attention to climate adaptation and water management strategies. At the core of the pavilion is the glowing sphere, which functions as a projection space for a 360-degree AI-generated film. The experience concludes with an interactive installation inviting visitors to contribute reflections and aspirations related to shared global futures.

main entrance evening

areal view

a new dawn

ramps

illuminated installation

main facade

grand ring

external facade

facade detail

intro space

event space

project info:

name: The Netherlands Pavilion Expo Osaka 2025
architects: RAU Architects | @rau.architects

location: Osaka, Kansai, Japan

gross floor area: 1157 sqm

designers: Tellart | @tellart

engineering: DGMR | @dgmradviseurs

construction: Asanuma Corporation | @asanuma_official

client: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken

advisor: BREED-ID

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In the Dutch city of Heerlen, Holy Water by MVRDV proposes a playfully irreverent reimagining of the St. Francis of Assisi Church: not as a house of prayer, but a public swimming pool. With the help of Zecc Architecten, the Rotterdam-based studio won a competition to convert the 20th-century monument into a social amenity, preserving the historic spirit of the brick building while giving it a second life in service of the community. ‘Why not give these churches a social function again, as they used to have?‘ asks Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV. ‘A public swimming pool is ideally suited for this.’

One of the most innovative elements of Holy Water by MVRDV is an adjustable pool floor. This technical achievement accommodates swimmers of all ages and abilities while simultaneously supporting a completely dry, flat surface for cultural programming. When filled with a thin layer of water, the pool transforms into a mirrored surface, capturing the architecture in reflection and giving the illusion of walking on water. ‘You can create a beautiful visual effect,’ says Maas, ‘allowing the church to return to its original form and appear even larger and more impressive through reflection.’

visualizations © MVRDV

MVRDV salvages and repurposes sacred elements

A glowing circular canopy announces the entrance to MVRDV’s Holy Water renovation, forming a contemporary counterpoint to the brick mass of Heerlen’s original church. Inside, circulation paths along the former aisles lead to changing rooms and food services tucked behind glass walls. These transparent dividers preserve the building’s axial procession while ensuring the pool’s climate does not interfere with the fragile historic finishes.

Sensitive reuse is at the heart of the project, where original church pews are integrated into the design, doubling as poolside seating and bar counters. The pulpit, once a platform for sermons, will become the lifeguard’s chair. These subtle but thoughtful gestures anchor the transformation in memory, rather than erasure.

The design pays homage to ecclesiastical aesthetics through mosaic flooring that references stained glass and local murals. Working with artists from Heerlen, the architects emphasize community involvement. Lighting too has dual purpose — rows of suspended fixtures echo the original chandeliers while marking out swimming lanes. It’s a balance of spiritual atmosphere and functional choreography.

MVRDV’s Holy Water project transforms a historic church in Heerlen into a public swimming pool

Holy Water is part of Heerlen’s broader urban revival

Keeping a pool warm without damaging the church’s materials posed a major challenge. Holy Water by MVRDV solves this by insulating the roof externally and restoring its existing tiles. Inside, the original timber structure remains visible while hidden acoustic panels absorb echoes. A glass envelope around the pool keeps moisture away from the art and architecture, and all technical equipment has been cleverly concealed underground.

A joint effort by MVRDV, Zecc Architecten, IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs, Nelissen Ingenieursbureau, and SkaaL, Holy Water by MVRDV exemplifies integrated design thinking. With structural, climatic, and economic expertise contributing to its realization, the project stands as a model of what adaptive reuse can achieve when heritage meets imagination.

The transformation of St. Francis of Assisi Church into Holy Water by MVRDV aligns with a citywide redevelopment push that includes a Roman museum and the renovation of the Royal-Rivoli cinema. The swimming pool not only relieves pressure on Heerlen’s existing facilities, but anchors a cultural and civic revival in the heart of the city. When completed at the end of 2027, Holy Water by MVRDV will be a working model for how disused sacred spaces can be respectfully reinvented.

the design preserves the church’s architecture while introducing a flexible, adjustable pool floor

mosaic tiles inspired by stained glass and local murals decorate the pool

church pews are repurposed as poolside seating while the pulpit becomes a lifeguard chair

Holy Water is expected to open in 2027 as part of a larger revitalization project across Heerlen

a shallow water feature allows visitors to experience the illusion of walking on water

project info:

name: Holy Water

architect: MVRDV | @mvrdv & Zecc Architecten | @zeccarchitects

location: Heerlen, The Netherlands

client: Gemeente Heerlen

area: 1,270 square meters

completion: 2025

visualizations: © MVRDV

architect: MVRDV, Zecc Architecten
founding partner in charge: Winy Maas
director: Gideon Maasland
design team (MVRDV): Gijs Rikken, Magda Porcoțeanu, Justin Vermeulen
design team (Zecc Architecten): Bart Kellerhuis, Roy van Maarseveen, Thijmen Hilhorst

structural engineer: IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs | @imd_raadgevende_ingenieurs

building physics: Nelissen Ingenieursbureau | @nelissen_ingenieursbureau

cost calculation: SkaaL

copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries

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The city of Rotterdam celebrates the completion of Portlantis, a monumental exhibition space designed by MVRDV to honor the maritime legacy and future of the port city. designboom visited the building ahead of its public opening on March 22nd, 2025 to tour the space with Dutch architect Winy Maas. Located along the coast, the building is ‘a museum with no collection’ which tells the story about the city’s relationship with the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port. Visitors are surrounded by the city’s industrial context and its global connections, learning about this context through a space that is as much about the architecture as it is about the narratives within.

‘We were in the extraordinary position that we had no collection, we only had a story,’ explained Creative Director Piet-Harm Sterk of BIND during a tour of the space. ‘We started with finding the perfect spot to tell the story, and that’s where we are today. We think this is the perfect place because on one side we see the most modern port in the world, and on the other side is the sea.‘

MVRDV’s design for Portlantis is built around a key principle — content and form are inseparable, creating a cohesive narrative space. Unlike traditional museums where a building is designed first, and exhibitions follow, Portlantis was conceived as a living, dynamic hub. The architecture itself plays an integral role in telling the story, shaping the experience as visitors interact with the building and its surroundings. The space is at once a venue for exhibitions and a meeting point for diverse groups — students, port authorities, politicians, and visitors — engaging in discussions and learning from each other. The design integrates exhibition areas with communal spaces to create an interconnected experience.

images © Ossip van Duivenbode | video © studio crow

mvrdv shapes A Stack of Rotating Boxes

The architects at MVRDV shape Portlantis as a stack of rotating boxes, each oriented toward unique views over the Port of Rotterdam. Inside, each level is connected by a central atrium, creating a layered storytelling experience with complex vertical and diagonal perspectives. The first floor focuses on Rotterdam’s current port activities, while the second floor explores the port’s historical impact. The third floor looks forward, addressing the future of the port and its evolving role in a global context.

Lead architect Winy Maas explains that he took inspiration from the sprawling infrastructure of the Rotterdam port, where massive boxes and containers dominate the landscape.

‘I hiked and biked all over the gigantic infrastructure,’ Maas says, presenting the project ahead of its completion in Rotterdam. ‘It’s the opposite of the ‘cuteness’ of the Netherlands. Because of this size of the port landscape, we made something ‘cute.’ How could we compete with the huge windmills and gigantic boxes of infrastructure?‘

the project by MVRDV takes shape as a stack of rotating boxes

exhibits showcase the complex workings of the port

Responding to its site, the building is constructed from resilient materials sourced from the port itself, designed to withstand the harsh winds, salt, and dust of the maritime environment. The carefully oriented ‘windows to the world’ frame views of the road, the river, the port, the dunes, and the sea, offering a panoramic experience that ties each exhibition to a unique and corresponding view.

Exhibition design is led by Kossmanndejong. Upon entering the journey of Portlantis from its ground-level lobby, visitors emerge into a dramatic atrium, which MVRDV plans as a visual and spatial anchor. Suspended yellow sculptures within the atrium evoke the feeling of standing beside the enormous structures of Rotterdam’s port, with the scale of the suspended objects providing a disorienting sense of perspective. The dynamic movement of these objects symbolizes the perpetual motion of the port, an ever-changing hub of activity. This atrium can be seen from all levels, with each perspective offering new insights into the building’s story.

architect Winy Maas was inspired by the port’s ‘landscape of boxes’ and gigantic ships

On the first level of Portlantis, visitors are introduced to a dramatic scale model of Rotterdam and its port. The atrium’s height and open design set the tone for what is to come, with a low, floating sculpture of a ship helping to reduce the acoustics within the vast space.

The first level explores the contemporary workings of the port, with an emphasis on the industrial and logistical operations that define Rotterdam’s role as a global port. The level includes interactive areas, including an ‘oil to anything’ display which demonstrates how oil plays a crucial role in the production and exchange of goods. A vibrant orange pipe threads throughout the level, with sections of transparency to display scale models of the boats and trucks used in the port’s operations. Other interactive exhibits, such as ‘job spots’ with VR representatives, allow visitors to learn more about the specific roles within the port.

with suspended yellow sculptures, a central atrium soars throughout the entire building

As visitors continue to ascend through MVRDV’s Portlantis, the second level brings the industrial impact of Rotterdam’s port into sharper focus. With views overlooking the busy container terminals, this floor explores the economic and logistical importance of the port. One key exhibit illustrates the complex network of materials and components that make up everyday products, like a bicycle, which is sourced from multiple regions worldwide. Interactive installations help visitors understand how interconnected the global supply chain is and how Rotterdam serves as a critical link. The inclusion of a children’s workshop and lab offers younger visitors hands-on experiences related to the port’s operations and the science behind the products it produces.

The third level of Portlantis takes a more analytical approach, with a focus on data and statistics. Here, visitors can interact with games and exhibits that explain how the port influences their daily lives, with approximately sixty percent of products in Western Europe being connected to Rotterdam’s operations. This floor highlights the complex logistics behind manufacturing familiar items, demonstrating the port’s role in global trade and its impact on local economies. A detailed exhibit showcases the materials and journey required to assemble a bicycle, underscoring the intricate network that makes even simple products possible.

educational exhibition spaces connect visitors to the surrounding Port of Rotterdam

On the fourth floor, Portlantis looks to the future, specifically the environmental challenges facing the Rotterdam port. The exhibition addresses how Rotterdam’s port must transition away from fossil fuels by 2050 to meet the carbon neutrality targets set by the Paris Agreement. Divided into five key themes — electrification, hydrogen, recycling, CO2 storage, and the reuse of waste heat — this floor explores potential solutions to create a sustainable, ‘futureproof’ port. The exhibits are designed to inspire visitors to think critically about the environmental challenges and the innovative technologies that can drive change.

‘It’s all about thinking about the port as it is now, but especially in the future,’ says Exhibition Designer Herman Kossman of Kossmanndejong. ‘We are in a world of climate change, we have to think about energy transition. We are in a world of geopolitical changes. This is something that the port wants to present. It wants to talk about how to deal with this in the future.’

The top level of Portlantis features a restaurant that can accommodate 150 people, offering a scenic panoramic view of the port and beyond. The restaurant’s design allows for the windows to open, creating an airy, balcony-like experience for visitors. Above, an accessible rooftop lends a fitting conclusion to the educational journey through the building, allowing visitors to overlook all of what they’ve learned about the port and its crucial role in shaping the world we live in today.

exhibits explore the economic and logistical importance of the port

the fourth level explores solutions to create a sustainable, ‘futureproof’ port

from the rooftop, visitors can overlook everything they’ve learned about the port

project info:

name: Portlantis

architects: MVRDV | @mvrdv

location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

opening: March 15th, 2025

photography: © Ossip van Duivenbode | @ossipvanduivenbode

video: © studio crow | @studiocrow.co

exhibition designer: Herman Kossman, Kossmanndejong

creative direction: Piet–Harm Sterk, BIND

Portlantis program manager: Eileen Niks, Port Authority

founding partner in charge: Winy Maas
partner: Fokke Moerel
competition design team: Klaas Hofman, Jonathan Schuster, Monica Di Salvo
schematic design team: Arjen Ketting, Klaas Hofman, Pim Bangert, Samuel Delgado, Duong Vu Hong, Efthymia Papadima, Luis Druschke, Maximilian Semmelrock
strategy, development: Magdalena Dzambo
structural engineer: van Rossum
MEP, building physics, environmental advisor: Nelissen
cost calculation: Laysan

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With its sculptural design, MAD Architects’ Fenix Museum of Migration is set to open on May 16th, 2025, marking a groundbreaking moment in Rotterdam‘s cultural landscape. The world’s first museum dedicated to migration through art, the project is the result of a collaboration between MAD Architects and the Droom en Daad Foundation. With its web-like staircase overlooking the city, the museum is set to be a pivotal space for storytelling and understanding the complexities of migration and will introduce a platform to reflect on its important societal impacts.

In conjunction with the museum’s completion, the architects have released a film documentary titled ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado.’ The film illustrates an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the design process and overall vision behind this ambitious work of architecture. It follows the creative journey of MAD Architects’ founder Ma Yansong, shedding light on the concepts that shaped the Fenix Museum. The documentary is now released ahead of the museum’s grand opening in spring, offering a rare preview into the intricate design work and thoughtful process that transformed the Fenix from concept to reality.

Fenix at Dusk, image © Gregg Telussa

MAD Architects’ celebration of migration

The Fenix Museum of Migration represents a significant milestone for MAD Architects as it marks the firm’s debut in creating a permanent public cultural building in Europe. The design team‘s vision is characterized by the museum‘s innovative layout and human-centered approach, with a volume that merges contemporary forms with Rotterdam’s heritage. The structure’s sculptural, spiraling design features a dynamic ‘double helix’ staircase, a focal point of the interior that symbolizes the journey of migration. Its fluid and organic shape offers a unique architectural language that resonates deeply with the museum’s narrative focus on migration.

‘The warehouse has a vast memory and a rich past made of human stories of departure and arrival,’ explains Ma Yansong in ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’. ‘From its docks, people arrived to build a new home in Rotterdam as well as to depart for a better life somewhere else in the world. So the task was to let the building tell by itself the stories of migration.’

He continues: ‘Fenix has to be restored to its original design. But we also had to introduce a new structure. This is how the Tornado emerged. The Tornado is a metaphor about a journey… We need to be aware that our journey is not the only one. We are part of a big web of journeys. Once we realize that we are all interconnected, we will be able to embrace the different paths that make up our own.’

image © Henry Verhorst

For further details about the Fenix Museum’s journey so far, designboom has previously covered key milestones in the project’s development, including its groundbreaking ceremony in November 2020 and the completion of its iconic double helix staircase in October 2024. These updates cover the architecture in detail along with the museum’s connection to the themes of migration.

image via ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’

image via ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’

image via ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’

image via ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’

Ma Yansong at Fenix, image © Mark Bolk

Fenix interior view, image © Wilbert Zuiderduin

project info:

name: Fenix Museum of Migration | @Fenix

architect: MAD Architects | @madarchitects
collaborators: Bureau Polderman, Droom en Daad Foundation

location: Rotterdam, Netherlands


completion: expected May 16th, 2025

previous coverage: November 2023, October 2024

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