Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR)
A Royal Launch
The following description is courtesy of the architects. His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands alongside Ban Ki-moon and Kristalina Georgieva today inaugurated the Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR). Designed by Powerhouse Company and developed by RED Company, the FOR is not only one of the most sustainable offices in the world, it is also the largest floating office in the world and a pioneer in circular timber workplaces of this scale.
‘The building structure is designed in wood and can easily be demounted and re-used. It’s ready for the circular economy’
Nanne de Ru
The FOR is home to the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), ABN AMRO, RED Company, Powerhouse Company and restaurant Putaine. Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Board of GCA, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of Global Center on Adaptation, spoke during the opening ceremony after attending a High-Level Dialogue on Climate Adaptation, convened by GCA, to call for accelerated adaptation action ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November.
We designed our floating office to reflect the values of its inhabitants: the Global Center on Adaptation. This Rotterdam-based NGO chaired by Ban Ki-moon aims at promoting planning, investment, and technology to mitigate climate change. The carbon neutral building is designed to be climate resilient and will float if sea levels rise due to climate change. Our climate-resilient office is both an illustration of the center’s mission and sets an example for how to build sustainable floating structures.
The FOR is the launch pad for the larger regeneration of Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven, formerly one of the of city’s busiest working harbors. The revitalizing of now disused former industrial land will pave the way for a vibrant, lively new city center. In the wake of the departed harbor industry, the Floating Office plays an important role in reactivating the streetscape with bustling activity with its public facilities. In addition to creating a desirable workplace, these features will draw footfall the to the area and breathe new life into the old harbor.
‘Designing a sustainable, floating office building was a very challenging commission and we approached it in an integrated way.’
Nanne de Ru
Generating its own energy thanks to 800 square meters of solar panels, the FOR uses the water from the Rijnhaven harbor in a heat-exchange system, while overhanging balconies provide cooling shade. It is an outstanding example of circular design with all the materials used in its construction completely recyclable. The use of wood as the main construction material reduces the carbon footprint of the building dramatically.
Project Details
- Architect: Powerhouse Company
- Developer: RED Company
- Client: Global Center on Adaptation, Municipality of Rotterdam
- Financing: ABN Amro
- Project management: DVP
- Contractor: FOR Building VOF (consisting of Bouwbedrijf Valleibouw B.V. and Bouwbedrijf Osnabrugge B.V.)
- Contractor floating foundations: Hercules FC
- Structural engineer: Bartels & Vedder
- Wood structure engineer: Solid Timber
- MEP installations & sustainability: DWA
- Wood structure: Derix Gelamineerde Houtconstructies
- Building installations: Roodenburg Groep
- Glass: iFS Building Systems
- Steel: W. Ten Ham Plaatwerk
