In the middle of the city harbours of Rotterdam one will find a former quarantine facility. It has barely surved it's original purpose, but has been the home of a group of artists since 1979. It is one of the unknown secrets of Rotterdam. The transformation of this area aims to open up this area a little more towards a broader public, showing what unexpected places the city of Rotterdam has. A museum and private depot spaces will complement the art related function of the area.

For this graduation project the Maassilo building in the harbour of Rotterdam was redeveloped into an art hall for modern art. The design is based on an extensive analysis of the building and its context. The history of the building swell as the future plans of the municipality have been taken into account on the scale of the city, the direct surrounding as well on a building level and detail level.
The main interventions into the building are the addition of a bridge crossing the Maasharbour splitting the building in two sides. Also opening up the facade of the south facade. The goal was to significantly increase the amount of functional space in the building which is done by demolishing a large amount of silo walls on the inside and adding floors in the silos. Creating a beter relationship between the ground floor and the top floors. The composition of the buildings facades in combination with its functional and industrial character have been the basis for the concept of the redevelopment.

The Katoenveem is a former cotton warehouse situated in the Northern harbour area of Rotterdam. It was built in 1920, has been out of use as a cotton warehouse since 1964 and has been vacant since 2016. Over the past 100 years, the building has maintained a lot of its original character. This graduation project focusses on the question how the Katoenveem can be reused to accommodate a new function and at the same time keep its identity? Through a thorough analysis of the building and its context, this resulted in a transformation of the building into a working and living incubator which maintained its original identity, responds to the development and connects to its area.

This project is about the transforamtion of the Maassilo, a former silo building located on Maashaven in Rotterdam. In this project the building will be transformed into an agriculture and health education space with a market. The building is conceived as a learning process for the visitor, who is provided with the information (exhibition spaces and library) and the practical knowledge (roof community gardens). The market creates a cycle in this process of learning - producing - consuming, and promotes the healthy food.
The design is a multi-layered understanding of the building with the aim to retain the buildings character and identity while enhancing an reinterpreting some of the building’s qualities. The design approach follows the initial value assessment and the framework of transformation, which shows the importance of these steps for the design. The main themes in the new design is the experience of the existing building and the connection between the different layers. In order to create these experiences different elements where implemented in the three level division of the building (ground floor, silos, attic). Openness and generosity of space are main intervention guidelines in all three spaces as the scale of the building needs these in order to be appreciated and fully experienced.
Another, important element especially for the silo parts is the introduction of light as the enhancing element of the silo experience. Similarly, materiality in combination with the scale and the light is a key aspect of the spatial quality. In order for these elements to create a coherent design, principles of intervention where implemented in order to define the atmosphere of each space and relate the different spaces in one concept.

The Maassilo was built to provide additional grain storage in the developing port of Rotterdam. The first part was constructed in 1909 and was the largest reinforced concrete structure of Europe at the time. Over the years the Maassilo has been expanded multiple time. During the 80’s the industry of the Rotterdam started moving towards the Botlek and the Tweede Maasvlakte. The company of the Maassilo moved away as well. The Maassilo remained functioning as an additional grain storage but the grain wasn’t any longer being processed at the building. At July 31st 2003 Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Rotterdam (OBR) became owner of the building and the building stopped functioning as a grain storage. The company planned on demolishing the building and redevelop the location. However due to expensive demolishing costs, the cultural historic value and the potential monumental status OBR changed its plans. The spaces of the Maassilo were rented out. The first tenant of the new owner was night club NOW&WOW. After a shooting incident the night club was closed, but the Maassilo went on as a event location named factory 010. In 2008 the Creative factory moved into the former factory part of the building providing office spaces for start-ups. Until now the building has been partly redeveloped. During the redevelopments some of the beautiful characteristics of the building have been destroyed and a coherent solution hasn’t been found. The main question is what to do with the structures of the silos which form 60 - 70% of the building. Research question: What permanent function could fit in the Maassilo while maintaining the original character of the building.

This graduation project deals with the Katoenveem, a former cotton warehouse in the Keilehaven in Rotterdam. When harbour activities left the city harbours in Rotterdam, the Katoenveem became vacant. This project focusses on redesigning the Katoenveem, while keeping its authentic characteristics. A research phase precedes the design phase, in which the Katoenveem was transformed into a textile innovation centre.