De Herwaert
With De Herwaert, we are creating an informal, green, and safe connection between the Oude Westen and the city center of Rotterdam—between the Westersingel and the Wijkpark. A pedestrian passage for all Rotterdammers, linking small parks, squares, and spaces into a new natural route along primary schools, neighborhood care, petting zoos, art, community centers, and small shops. A connector that strengthens the local economy and offers a welcome refuge for people, plants, and animals in the city. Thanks to a varied program of workshops and workspaces, daytime cafés, and a diverse and accessible housing program, it will provide a quality boost for the city of Rotterdam.
Project Name: De Herwaert
Location: Westersingel, Rotterdam (NL)
Client: FULLHOUSE
Architect: Kraaijvanger Architecten
Elementair architect: Studio RAP
Contractor facade cladding / 3d-ceramic-printing: Studio RAP
Main contractor: FULLSPEED
Project Name: De Herwaert
Location: Westersingel, Rotterdam (NL)
Client: FULLHOUSE
Architect: Kraaijvanger Architecten
Elementair architect: Studio RAP
Contractor facade cladding / 3d-ceramic-printing: Studio RAP
Main contractor: FULLSPEED
The transformation of the Westersingel 18-20 ensemble requires a layered approach that fits within the historical context and the protected cityscape. In this way, we enrich the golden edge of the Westersingel by translating 19th-century grandeur into contemporary architecture with three expressive façades. The central building is the most expressive, featuring ceramic cladding. These sculptural ornaments are 3D-printed by Studio RAP in Rotterdam itself, using more than 50% recycled material.
The façades in this street also display great diversity in their materialization. Thanks to a carefully balanced combination of brick, stucco, polished concrete, and ceramics, De Herwaert presents a rich palette of materials, with a distinct finish for each of the three buildings.
The transparent Herwaert Passage is where various connections visibly converge. The ceramic frames visibly enclose different spaces, offering views of the living room with daytime cafés, the residential-work entrance, and providing a green sightline through to the garden, the pavilion, and the Wijkpark.
The richly decorated ceramic tiles on the Westersingel side feature abstract, water-inspired ornaments. These gradually transition toward the Wijkpark into subtly abstract, nature-inspired decorations. Ceramics also frame special elements in the garden, appearing along the pond’s edge, the pavilion’s roofline, and the columns of the gate leading to the Wijkpark, all echoing the ornamental style of the frames in the passage.
In the Herwaert Garden, we will realize the pavilion—a uniquely transparent building oriented toward the garden, the passage, and the Wijkpark. The pavilion connects to the basement, forming the domain of De Makerij. De Makerij will host a social ceramics workshop where students and individuals with limited access to the labor market can experience creative craftsmanship. The courses will be taught by master ceramicists who will also have their own workshops in the pavilion, where their works will be showcased in the central core.
The Herwaert Garden is designed with clear structure and offers a lush, naturally cohesive setting with typical elements of an enclosed garden: vine-covered walls, an entrance gate, a classical axis, and a pond.
De Herwaert will serve as an important green link in the area. To that end, we are creating high biodiversity on two levels within the Herwaert Garden. On the landscape above the basement roofs, plants that thrive in drier, higher conditions will grow, while the lower section functions as a rain garden, supporting species that prefer wetter environments. The water system of De Herwaert consists of several smart retention roofs (in the garden, on the pavilion, and on the main building), which are controlled by weather forecasts. These roofs are connected to a retention pond.
In transforming Westersingel 18-20, we preserve the qualities of the existing buildings. By creating a passage through the central building, the load-bearing structure—and thus the considerable concrete—of the two outer buildings can remain untouched for maximum material efficiency. Set back and staggered in height, rooftop extensions on numbers 18 and 19 reflect the architecture of the façades below and follow the parceling of these buildings. The recessed nature of the extensions ensures a subtle integration into the existing structure.
The façades in this street also display great diversity in their materialization. Thanks to a carefully balanced combination of brick, stucco, polished concrete, and ceramics, De Herwaert presents a rich palette of materials, with a distinct finish for each of the three buildings.
The transparent Herwaert Passage is where various connections visibly converge. The ceramic frames visibly enclose different spaces, offering views of the living room with daytime cafés, the residential-work entrance, and providing a green sightline through to the garden, the pavilion, and the Wijkpark.
The richly decorated ceramic tiles on the Westersingel side feature abstract, water-inspired ornaments. These gradually transition toward the Wijkpark into subtly abstract, nature-inspired decorations. Ceramics also frame special elements in the garden, appearing along the pond’s edge, the pavilion’s roofline, and the columns of the gate leading to the Wijkpark, all echoing the ornamental style of the frames in the passage.
In the Herwaert Garden, we will realize the pavilion—a uniquely transparent building oriented toward the garden, the passage, and the Wijkpark. The pavilion connects to the basement, forming the domain of De Makerij. De Makerij will host a social ceramics workshop where students and individuals with limited access to the labor market can experience creative craftsmanship. The courses will be taught by master ceramicists who will also have their own workshops in the pavilion, where their works will be showcased in the central core.
The Herwaert Garden is designed with clear structure and offers a lush, naturally cohesive setting with typical elements of an enclosed garden: vine-covered walls, an entrance gate, a classical axis, and a pond.
De Herwaert will serve as an important green link in the area. To that end, we are creating high biodiversity on two levels within the Herwaert Garden. On the landscape above the basement roofs, plants that thrive in drier, higher conditions will grow, while the lower section functions as a rain garden, supporting species that prefer wetter environments. The water system of De Herwaert consists of several smart retention roofs (in the garden, on the pavilion, and on the main building), which are controlled by weather forecasts. These roofs are connected to a retention pond.
In transforming Westersingel 18-20, we preserve the qualities of the existing buildings. By creating a passage through the central building, the load-bearing structure—and thus the considerable concrete—of the two outer buildings can remain untouched for maximum material efficiency. Set back and staggered in height, rooftop extensions on numbers 18 and 19 reflect the architecture of the façades below and follow the parceling of these buildings. The recessed nature of the extensions ensures a subtle integration into the existing structure.
