Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“We should not only occupy our roofs and make them greener but also connect them so that we can offer Rotterdammers a new rooftop park!” states Winny Maas.

“For this, the orange carpet and the bridging of the Coolsingel are a nice initial test case.”

Rotterdam-based studio MVRDV has devised a temporary installation—Rotterdam Rooftop Walk—that allows locals and tourists to walk and wonder on different rooftops of the city in Rotterdam.

Open now for several months as a highlight in both the Rotterdam Architecture Month and the Rotterdam Rooftop Festival, the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk allows visitors to venture across a variety of the city’s rooftops at a height of 30 metres.

The project aims to give the public a new perspective on the city: the extensive programming should increase visitors’ awareness of the potential of roofs, which can become a “second layer” that makes the city more liveable, biodiverse, sustainable, and healthy, while the highlight of the route is the bridge spanning the Coolsingel, one of Rotterdam’s most important streets.

The bright orange Rotterdam Rooftop Walk is 600 metres long and offers the public a fantastic view of the city.

In the rooftop exhibition artists, designers, and architects show how much is possible if we use our roofs efficiently for greenery, water storage, food production, and energy generation.

On top of the installation, all kinds of makers show how roofs can contribute to a sustainable, healthy and liveable city—from a virtual village to a green design for the roof of the Bijenkorf department store.

The route of the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk begins alongside the Koopgoot, the sunken shopping street that crosses underneath the Coolsingel.

Staircases lead visitors up through a series of terraces to the rooftop of the WTC plinth, then over the Coolsingel to the roof of the Bijenkorf.

Here visitors find educational displays and demonstrations, and they will also be able to access the three open patios on the top of the building designed by Marcel Breuer in 1957.

Finally, the route leads across to the roof of the Bijenkorf parking garage, from where a staircase will take visitors back to ground level.

Solutions to the scarcity of space in cities are crucial to prevent the continued urbanization of rural areas.

Rooftop programming can help with major issues such as climate change, the housing crisis, and the transition to renewable energy; the Rooftop Walk draws attention to these problem—making visitors more aware of the possibilities, especially in a city like Rotterdam where 18.5 km2 of flat roofs remains unused.

Project: Rotterdam Rooftop Walk
Architects: MVRDV
Partner in Charge: Winy Maas
Partner/Director: Gideon Maasland
Design Team: Gijs Rikken and Michele Tavola
General Contractor: Dutch Steigers
Client: Rotterdam Rooftop Days
Photographers: Ossip Van Duivenbode