The Netherlands’ first covered market- Markthal Rotterdam- displays the world’s biggest artwork. Dutch architects MVRDV designed this vast, unique structure, which houses 96 fresh produce stalls, restaurants and cafés and 20 retail and hospitality units in its interior, while its out layer consists of apartments. Have a look at this exotic building on SURFACES REPORTER (SR).Also, check out the video made by Dutch design studio Moooi about the Markthal at the bottom of this post.
A Hybrid Building
Situated in the heart of Rotterdam, the Markthal spreads over an area of 95,000 square meters, with 228 apartments and 1,200 below-ground parking spaces. The construction work of the building took almost five years to complete.
The massive structure features a central market hall during the day and after closing hours, a vigorous series of restaurants on its lower floors. It is a hybrid building that allows people to enjoy shopping, eating, talking, drinking, living and watching the fantastic interiors. It also has a parking space inside it. Already being entitled as the ‘Sistine Chapel of Rotterdam,’ Horn of Plenty, the gigantic, vibrant painting of Markthal measures over 36,000 square feet.
The World’s Biggest Artwork
Artistic additions to a work of architecture not only help to define a building’s character - and they also provide a canvas for communities to express themselves and introduce creativity and wonder to our cities! Located under the 40-metre-tall arch of the Markthal, the building’s signature feature is the world’s largest artwork covering the building’s vaulted interior. “Cornucopia”, by artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam shows massively enlarged images of food products alongside flowers and insects, about Dutch still-life paintings from the 17th century and of course celebrating the works being shown in the market stalls below.
At over 11,000 square meters in size with a resolution comparable to a glossy magazine, the digital file of the artwork was almost 1.5TB in size, and required the help of Pixar software to render! The artwork is printed onto perforated aluminium panels, which are attached to acoustic panels to reduce the noise in the market hall to a minimum. At the same time, the natural grey stone facade accentuates the colourful interior of the building.
Designed with An Open Character
The structure is designed with an open character to catch the fancy of visitors. Its end arches have been physically closed to protect the customers or visitors from the weather. Still, the single-glazed cable net façade offers transparency.
With a construction system similar to a tennis-racket, pre-stressed steel cables create a suspended net onto which the glass panes are hung.
Façade That Can Withstand Natural Vulnerabilities
The cable net façade of Markthal is the biggest of its kind in Europe. Moreover, it is strong and flexible enough to bear heavy storms. The building received a Very Good BREEAM rating due to its state-of-the-art energy-efficient construction.
The structure holds almost 126 freehold apartments and 102 rental apartments, including 24 penthouses. The size of the buildings varies from 80 square metres to 300 square metres. Every apartment gives a view of the brightly coloured market hall or the River Maas or the Laurenskerk.
If you’ll ever plan to visit Rotterdam, don’t miss to have a look at this beautiful building. Also, don’t skip out on a tasty Dutch snack and a variety of other fresh products there.
Take a Virtual Tour to Markthal Rotterdam
Project Details:
Location: Netherlands
City: Rotterdam
Area: 100000 m²
Client: Provast Nederland bv, The Hague, Netherlands
Status: Realized
Other Credits:
Architect: MVRDV
Principal in charge: Winy Maas
Partner: Renske van der Stoep
Design team: Anton WubbenMarc JoubertSven ThorissenMonica FreundtLaura GrilloJoeri HorstinkTadas JonauskisDiana LopezGijs RikkenElsbeth RonnerYvo ThijssenJohnny TsangAnet SchurinkJeroen ZuidgeestMichele OlceseIvo van Capelleveen
Strategy & Development: Jan Knikker
Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries
Partners
Co-architects: INBO, Woudenberg, NL
Structure: Royal Haskoning DHV, The Hague, NL
Services / Acoustics: Peutz & Associates, Zoetermeer, NL
Installations: Techniplan, NL
Glass Façade: Octatube, Rotterdam, NL
Above Ground Contractor: J. P. van Eesteren
Below Ground Contractor: Mobilis and Martens en Van Oord, NL
Artwork: Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam
Info and Photo Courtesy: MVRDV
Video Courtesy: Dutch design studio Moooi
Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more such articles and stories.
Like Surfaces Reporter on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter
You may also like to read:
Biswa Bangla Gate- This Steel and Glass Bridge Houses an Exhibition Space and a Restaurant | Kolkata New Town| Vector Designs
Use of Unusual colours in Architecture & Design
World’s Largest Basket in Newark, Ohio
Largest Space Simulation City in Dubai