Portlantis is a new Rotterdam visitor centre connecting guests with its rich maritime spirit

‘As you may see, Rotterdam is not Rome. It is not Paris, and definitely not Amsterdam. We are different,’ says Robert Simons, vice mayor of Rotterdam’s port and economy. ‘We do have a rich history which allowed for our architectural journey to take a different turn. After the Second World War, our city centre was destroyed. From this, Rotterdam decided to make a bold decision, to rebuild and restore. This allowed us to focus on innovation and our connection to the river mass.’

Enter the new Rotterdam visitor centre: Portlantis

His notes mark the opening of Portlantis, a new educational centre built on the cusp of the port in Rotterdam, where the land meets the sea. Its main purpose is to offer an interactive journey which takes visitors through the story of the city’s rich maritime history, while projecting a glimpse into the future.

The building was designed by architecture studio MVRDV, with interior design by Kossmanndejon, who worked closely with each other to make sure the structure was built with sustainable architecture in mind, while informed by functionality requirements and the surrounding environment. The result is a demountable building with reusable façade panels. It is fully energy-neutral, drawing from its own wind turbine and 266 solar panels.

Located around 45 minutes from the city centre, Portlantis is a modern marvel overlooking the sea. Comprising five cubic volumes, its geometric façade is intriguing and playful, taking on the shape of a Rubik's cube in play. Each level holds distinct character and educational purposes to ignite a spark within the young children who visit, perhaps inspiring them to pursue a future career in Rotterdam’s maritime industry.

Winy Maas, the architect leading the project for MVRDV, says of the design concept: ‘The port is the opposite of the cuteness of the Netherlands. When designing this project we had to think, “How on earth do we compete with this? The cuteness of the windmills or the considered eyesore of gigantic stacks of cargo containers?” Here we wanted to be inspired by [the windmills]. Which is why we created the building as a “cute stack”.’

Maas continues, 'It all started with materials from the port. The façade is constructed with sandwich panels, which are most robust against the wind, salt and dust. We made them shiny because they [happen to] help monitor the levels of dust and wind – signalling when the façade needs to be cleaned and maintained. [For us] it is a poetic interpretation of the harshness of the surrounding environment and a beacon in the landscape.’

Matte black, cylindrical revolving doors guide visitors through a series of swirling lights and deep hums, before they enter the core of the building. Here, the history of the port is unveiled. A large interactive screen highlights the area's development from the Second World War to the present day. Suspended above and taking up the full 22m atrium height are yellow models of parts of a large boat, its propeller and anchor chain, for example, moving and creating different compositions during the day.

The second floor is about the impact and influences of the port on the region's economy, employment, and environment; while the third floor looks to the future. ‘We are in a world of climate change,’ says Herman Kossman, the exhibition designer for Portlantis. ‘We need to think about energy transition and geopolitical changes. This is something the port wants to present, to showcase answers on how to deal with these issues in the future.’

The fourth and fifth floors host a restaurant and an accessible rooftop offering a panoramic view where you can put everything that the exhibition has relayed into context.

The centre is predicted to host 150,000 visitors per year. It is designed to allow visitors to find their own way through the building in order to connect with the port’s maritime spirit.

‘Portlantis’ interior and exterior are designed to be connected,’ explains Kossman. 'Its content and form are interconnected. In our professional world [many projects] start with a building. The architects design it, and then exhibition designers come in and set up their displays. This isn’t just a building with a story inside. The building is also part of the story.’

Portlantis is located at Pr. Máximaweg 301, 3199 KG Maasvlakte Rotterdam, Netherlands portofrotterdam.maglr.com

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kossmanndejong.nl