Rotterdam is home to the first office tower of Europe (Het Witte Huis) and is a city with a unique skyline. Since 1898 when Het Witte Huis was built, Rotterdam became the premier Dutch skyscraper city. The buildings aren’t that tall as in some American or Asian cities, but Rotterdam’s skyline sure is among the most impressive of Europe. Here you’ll find a list of the 5 tallest buildings of Rotterdam. A list that will be obsolete within a year, because some new contenders for this top 5 are already under construction or planned. Like the new Rise Project which features three towers of which one will be 250 metres tall.
Zalmhaventoren
One of the latest additions to the skyline, the Zalmhaventoren measures 215 metres (705 ft). It’s the tallest tower of a complex with a total of three towers. The other two towers are 70 metres tall. It is one of the tallest residential towers in Europe and the tallest building in the Benelux. The tower houses a total of 295 apartments and a large parking garage. The tower was designed by Amsterdam-based firm Dam & Partner architects.
Maastoren
The Maastoren (Meuse Tower) is with its height of 165 metres (541 ft) the second tallest building in the Netherlands. The tower was built between 2006 and 2009, and was designed by architectural firm Dam & Partner architects. The Maastoren serves as the headquarters of the Dutch branch of Deloitte, and is used by the company AKD. The interior of the Maastoren is exclusively heated and cooled by the water of the Nieuwe Maas (New Meuse). The building also features a dock for water taxis.
New Orleans
The New Orleans is a 44-storey, 158 metres tall (519 ft) residential skyscraper, designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. The complex houses 234 apartments and a swimming pool, saunas and a gym for the residents. LantarenVenster is also located in the complex with 5 theatres and a special venue for Jazz music. The name New Orleans comes from the industrial warehouses that used to be located on this pier and all had names of port cities around the world. The tower next door is named Montevideo and some other names to be found on the pier are New York, Boston and Seattle.
Delftse Poort
The Delftse Poort is a twin-tower skyscraper complex right next to the Centraal railway station. Tower I is 151 metres (496 ft) with 41 stories, and Tower II is 93 metres (305 ft) with 25 stories. Until May 2009, Tower I was the tallest office tower in the Netherlands. The buidling complex was designed by Dutch Architect Abe Bonnema. The completion of this building in 1991, is by some seen as the start of the ‘Rotterdam Renaissance’. A period in which a lot of new developments throughout the city transformed Rotterdam from a gritty port city to a modern cosmopolitan city.
De Rotterdam
Not the tallest building of Rotterdam, but by far the largest. The 44 floors amount to a total floor space area of about 160,000 square metres, making it also the largest building in the Netherlands. The height of the building is 149 metres (489 ft). It was designed by OMA in 1998, but construction started years later in 2009. It’s a multi-purpose building with a residential, office and leisure area. It has 240 apartments, 72,000 m2 of offices and a hotel with 285 rooms. About 9000 m2 is reserved for restaurants, shops and fitness facilities.