The Green City

The climate will change dramatically in the coming years. The risk of floods, heat waves and extreme dry periods is increasing. A climate-proof city is a city that is prepared for this. But what solutions do we have for this? And at the same time, how do we ensure that we also live more sustainably in the city? What will our food supply look like in the future, how do we move in a sustainable city and what building materials are used to build new buildings. In short, how do we make the ‘city of tomorrow’ a place where life is pleasant for people and nature.

Join UrbanGuides through the oldest part of Rotterdam city center and see how many developments and applications are underway to make Rotterdam city center livable and climate-proof. Greening the city, improving water quality, more sustainable construction and better use of the available land. Look with new eyes at the city center that continues to reinvent itself.

Type

Walking Tour

Prijs/Duur

€160,- ex 21% btw
1,5 hours
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

In consultation

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Type

Prijs/Duur

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The Luchtsingel and ZoHo

It almost seems strange to think that Rotterdam wasn’t always the vibrant place it is now. Yet, it was only a decade ago when the metropole along the Meuse wasn’t featured in any list at all and the tourists were nowhere to be found. One of the areas where you didn’t want to come back in those days, was the zone stretching from Rotterdam Central Station to the former Hofplein station. And what a transformation this area has seen since! You can discover it for yourself in an excursion along the Luchtsingel, together with a professional UrbanGuide.

In just a few years, a complete wasteland was transformed into a lively area that is now bustling with life. The central axe of this all is the striking bright yellow boardwalk: the Luchtsingel. The initiator behind this drastic urban intervention was architecture office ZUS. They moved their own office to the Schieblock, an icon of the rebuilding period in Rotterdam. Once they were in place, they gathered all sorts of creative agency’s around them, starting with small start-ups, but later even attracting established cultural entrepreneurs, clubs and festivals.

The 350-meter-long Luchtsingel formed the collective element with which ZUS blew new life into an area that had become in decay and isolated. It was this elongated wooden construction that became the backbone of a large urban development project. Within no time, the Central District – with the brand-new Central Station as its centrepiece – and the renovated Hofbogen got connected in an innovative way, resulting in an uplift for the entire area. If you would stroll along the Luchtsingel nowadays, you’d see that there are many different things to enjoy. From drinks in a sunny backyard to dancing in Rotterdam’s latest pop temple and from urban farming on a roof to jumping on a trampoline in the Pompenburg Park.

Now that the district is finally ‘finished’, fresh ideas for a new transformation are lurking around the corner again. In a 60-minute tour, you’ll walk on, under, along with and especially over the projects that ZUS realized over the past years in an area that is once more standing on the brink of new developments. Together with a guide, you’ll discover how this zone is still changing and you’ll hear everything about the latest plans.

Type

Walking Tour

Prijs/Duur

€ 160,- excl. BTW per guide
1.5 hour
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

Boek nu

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Guided Tour — Van Nelle Factory

Along the bank of the Delfshavense Schie lies a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage site: the Van Nelle Factory. This unique building from 1931 is considered to be the symbol of Dutch modernism.

The factory is world famous for its progressive design, in which air, light and space gained an entirely new role in architecture. It is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary buildings in town. Even Le Corbusier called it “the most beautiful spectacle of the modern age”.

Curious to discover the Van Nelle Factory for yourself? UrbanGuides is proud to say that we’ve been organizing tours of this renowned ‘glass palace’ since 2004. During a one hour walk the architecture, production process and the transformation of the factory will come to life. With an experienced Van Nelle-guide you’ll experience the building from inside out and discover why this groundbreaking design was of great architectural importance.

The Van Nelle Factory is one of the various modernist buildings that UrbanGuides is able to elaborate on in a tour. Other examples are the Sonneveld House and the former working-class neighborhood the Kiefhoek. On request we can work out a full customized modernist one or multiple day schedule for you and your party.

Public tours: Would you rather join one of the Public tours we organize these every Saturday with the Chabot Museum? Then please look here for more information.

Type

Building Tour

Prijs/Duur

€ 100,- excl. BTW per guide and € 2,50- entree per person excl. btw
1 hour
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

Van Nelleweg 1

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Expedition M4H

Deep in the west of the city, almost bordering Schiedam, is where you can currently find the focal point of Rotterdam’s urban development. This Merwe-Vierhaven district is hovering between harbour and city, resulting in a vivid mix of young entrepreneurs, creative initiatives, set up by the municipality amidst the old warehouses, various examples of industrial heritage and the ever-ongoing activities of the port of Rotterdam.

Now that the harbour is shifting towards areas further away from the city centre, places like the Merwe Vierhaven become experimental zones, which Rotterdam can actively transform into a progressive part of town and invest in its sustainable future.

The M4H-area forms, together with the RDM-campus on the other side of the river, the so-called Rotterdam Maker’s District, the place where young developers, start-ups and sustainable entrepreneurs and artists will be able to flourish.

Join a tour by UrbanGuides, and discover that there is a lot of industrial heritage from the former harbour hidden within the M4H-district. There are even designs by renowned architects such as Maaskant and bureau Brinkman & Van den Broek. Striking icons are the HAKA-building, the auction hall that was specially built for the goods that were coming in in the fruit harbour, Departure Hall Oranje and the notable Europoint Towers. Along the route, you will pay a visit to several of the pioneers and extraordinary locations, such as the Floating Far, the Keilepand, Atelier van Lieshout and Studio Roosengaarde.

A professional guide will lead the way through this upcoming part of town and tell you all about the history of this early 20th-century harbour, how the port was relocated and what is and will be in store for this district in the near future.

For reservations and more information about the tours, you can contact the RDM information centre via telephone number 0031 10 – 252 44 72 or by sending an e-mail to rondleidingenrdm@portofrotterdam.com.

Type

Walking Tour

Prijs/Duur

On request
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

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Around the Rijnhaven

Looking out from the Veerhaven over the Southbank of the Meuse, you’ll see an architecture spectacle that could be best described as almost un-Dutch. No modest housing projects on the Wilhelmina pier or Katendrecht nowadays! You’d sooner imagine yourself standing in the docklands of London, New York or Shanghai. And the impressive skyline of Rotterdam is still growing day by day.

The high rise on the Wilhelmina pier and Katendrecht are the result of some 30 years of urban development around the former Rijn harbour. During this period a lot of effort went into bringing together the north and south banks and connecting them into one big city centre along the river. A big change was brought along by the Erasmus bridge, which made the Southbank instantly so much more accessible. The Wilhelmina pier started to develop itself from a deserted dockland into a mundane part of the city centre. World-famous architects, such as Rem Koolhaas, Alvaro Siza Vieira and sir Norman Foster left their landmarks at the pier. On this small peninsula, you’ll find the three tallest buildings of the Netherlands and OMA’s The Rotterdam is known as the building with the biggest volume on the European continent.

Katendrecht started its redevelopment a little less ambitious, but with the Fenix Lofts and the Groene Kaap, the area is adopting the shine of its brother the Wilhelmina pier. Katendrecht will be a remarkable residential area once more, with its infamous dockland past and its shiny new architectural designs as a promise for the near future.

In an architecture tour with UrbanGuides, you’ll walk along the Wilhelmina pier and Katendrecht, crossing spectacular residential towers, monumental warehouses, industrial silos and cargo bike neighbourhoods. A professional guide will tell you everything there is to know about the historical land future developments of these areas and who was at the base of these plans. The architecture of a harbour city at its best!

Type

Walking Tour

Prijs/Duur

€ 210,- excl. BTW per guide
2 hours
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

In consultation

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The Kiefhoek

Rotterdam is home to quite a few hidden pearls of modernism. Many of these can be found just slightly outside the city centre and are thus not always easy to find and explore. The former working-class neighbourhood the Kiefhoek, for instance, is set on the Southbank of the river Meuse, hidden from view by a busy road and a small dyke. UrbanGuides will be happy to take you on a tour of this iconic residential area!

The Kiefhoek is the undisputed highlight of modernism within the context of Rotterdam’s vast collection of social housing projects. It was with this residential area from 1927 that J. J. P. Oud made a name for himself as a modern architect. Oud created a standardized floor plan for the 294 houses that were supposed to be built in Rotterdam-South so that the project would come along rather quickly and, even more important, inexpensive.

The houses were small, but very practically furnished with all kinds of built-in elements, such as cupboards, a small fireplace and a useful coat rack that was, at the same time, serving the purpose of a hat shelf. Oud also made a matching design for several of the neighbourhood’s central facilities, like the two eye-catching shops, a boiler house and a church.

A tour of the Kiefhoek starts at the unique house museum, which gives you a good insight into the history of the architecture and its clever features. The house is set on the edge of the Hendrik Ido square and is only open to groups guided by an Urban- or MuseumGuide. After visiting the house museum, you’ll be exploring the rest of the remarkable project. Along the way, a professional guide will tell you all about this revolutionary urban development project by architect Oud.

Type

Building Tour

Prijs/Duur

€ 125,- ex. VAT per guide
1 hour
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

Hendrik Idoplein 2

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Garden village Vreewijk

This ‘pretty village’ in the city, located in the Feijenoord district, was built over a hundred years ago as one of the first and largest garden cities in the Netherlands. Together with M.J. Grandpré-Molière and A.J.Th. Kok, in particular architect Pieter Verhagen, took care of the beautiful urban development and green structure of Tuindorp Vreewijk.

In recent years, many homes have been modernized and the streetscape has been returned to its authentic state. In addition, this green oasis in Rotterdam houses the highest density of national monuments. From homes, gardens to school buildings have been awarded this most important title.

UrbanGuides takes you past dwellings, gardens, schools, canals, parks in ‘the garden of Rotterdam’ and discover the power and beauty of one of the city’s most special residential areas.

A visit to the garden village of Vreewijk can always be combined with a lunch or a drink at the historic restaurant Het Witte Paard.

Type

Walking Tour

Prijs/Duur

€160,- ex VAT
1,5 uur
Max 15 persons per guide

Start Locatie

Groenezoom 245, 3075 GD Rotterdam

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