Efficient… and beautiful

SeARCH i.c.w. Christian Müller presents a fully energy neutral City Hall for Rotterdam. The design is a homage to the round shape that gives maximum shelter with a minimum of material usage, is efficient… and beautiful. One windmill on the Maasvlakte provides the last bit of electricity necessary for this ‘green heart of the city’.

Square, high and angular, synonyms for the city of Rotterdam. What remains is the fact that the special light, the grandness and the tough water add endless much to it. Just as in New York the whole is more than the pieces on its own. An intangible force, the repetition, the apparent insensibility that, on further consideration, hides the inevitable necessity, the total deficiency of ‘unnecessary’ aesthetics finally creates a rhythm for the citizen, a mystical experience that exceeds the perception of beauty. A feeling that other Dutch cities lack and that is what makes Rotterdam unique. via