MVRDV has received the green light for the Schieblocks, a 47,000-square-metre office building that is set to become the largest privately developed new office project currently under construction in the Netherlands. Developed by LSI and branded as The Bluezone Offices, the scheme occupies a narrow strip alongside Rotterdam’s railway line, where it rises 61 metres and stretches nearly 150 metres to form a stacked, “3D neighbourhood” of office volumes.
Located within the Schiekadeblok — a post-war district known today for its creative scene, independent businesses, bars, and clubs — the project is designed to reinforce the area’s identity even as the city advances new densification plans. MVRDV’s massing strategy mirrors the scale and rhythm of the existing Delftsestraat façades, breaking the expansive building into four horizontal bands topped by 11 distinct “Schieblocks”.
Render by © CUUB
The composition takes cues from Rotterdam’s reconstruction-era blocks but reinterprets them vertically, advocating what the architects describe as a “second reconstruction” for the city. Several upper blocks are sculpted to follow the sun angle, preventing new shadows from falling on homes across the railway tracks.
© MVRDV
Each of the 11 blocks features its own colour and window pattern inspired by Rotterdam landmarks, drawing on Donald Judd’s colourful furniture series. One block reimagines the projecting bay windows of the Huig Maaskant-designed Citrusveiling building and adopts the bright yellow of the former Luchtsingel bridge. Another blends the sandstone tone of city hall with windows spelling “010”, the city’s dialling code, within an octagonal form borrowed from the façade of nearby Hofplein 19.
Sustainability is embedded in the material choices: two blocks use recycled-content brick to cut embodied carbon, while three south-facing façades incorporate Building Integrated Photovoltaic panels to generate on-site energy.
© MVRDV
At street level, a transparent plinth brings public life to the base of the building, housing a bakery, concept store, bike café, and access to a three-storey underground garage. One of the project’s most unusual features sits at its western end, where a historic car ramp belonging to the adjacent Central Post building — a listed monument — cuts into the site. Since it cannot be removed, MVRDV has wrapped it in glass, transforming the still-functioning spiral ramp into the focal point of the Wokkelbar, a new nightlife venue embodying the area’s gritty, improvisational character.
Render by © CUUB
The public focus continues at the top of the building, where a restaurant and two-storey cultural space open onto expansive city views. A roofscape designed by Juurlink & Geluk forms a continuous green promenade, with spiral staircases connecting different levels beneath a pergola supporting solar panels.
“Squeezing a building in this narrow space next to the railway was a tough challenge – not to mention the complexity of building around a National Monument with the Wokkelbar,” says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “But the Schieblocks will be a colourful addition to the city. This is how people will see Rotterdam when arriving by train: diverse, bright, and bold. And in its boldness it is a call to action for the future of Rotterdam – from the ‘wederopbouw’, the reconstruction, we must shift to the ‘tweederopbouw’, the second reconstruction.”
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Cover image: Render by © CUUB
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