D tower

D tower proposes a high rise residential tower for the Central District of Rotterdam, one of the allocated areas for towers up to 200m. The tower relates to the existing high-rise buildings in the Rotterdam Central District, but at the same time joins the “Rotterdamse laag” of the Schiekade block. Instead of an unambiguous extrusion of the ideal residential floor plan, the tower is designed as a stack of separate volumes that refer in scale, grain size and architecture to the post-war buildings of the Schiekade block.

The tower assumes a dynamic pose with a silhouette that changes from different viewpoints in the city. D tower has a programmatic distinction between the substructure (activity) and the superstructure (apartments). The compact core, in combination with the load-bearing facade, allows a flexible layout of the floor plans from 1 to 8 apartments per layer. Due to the differentiation in size and type of homes, a rich mix of residents is possible.

The collective facilities are located at the moving parts of the tower. Here they benefit from the elongated terraces on the east, south and west. Due to their position and double height, the collective spaces are clearly recognizable. They turn the residential building into a vertical city and stimulate meeting and social interaction between the different residents.