RDM Campus

One of Rotterdam’s most spectacular examples of repurposing can be found at Heijplaat. There, the hundred-year-old shipyard of the Rotterdam Dry Dock Company (RDM) has been transformed into a dynamic Makers District. The vast complex is now used to provide education and stimulate innovation. It can be admired in all its glory during an UrbanGuides tour.

With the establishment of the RDM in 1902, a complete factory village was also built on Heijplaat, based on the English garden villages. Together with the Quarantine site, this area forms a special enclave in the middle of modern Rotterdam.

A visit can be organized from two different perspectives: with an interest in technology & education or based on the cultural-historical value of the former shipyard and the adjacent garden village.

RDM Innovation: Nowadays you can experience the former construction site of the SS Rotterdam as an educational campus in a tour from UrbanGuides. Together with a guide you will visit the former RDM Innovation Dock machine hall, a monumental industrial hall with an area of ​​approximately 23,000 m2 and heights of up to 20 meters. Today, technical education (Albeda and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) and companies work together here under the motto Research, Design & Manufacturing (RDM) on sustainable and innovative solutions in the field of construction, mobility and energy. The Campus is part of the Rotterdam Makers District, a collaboration with the M4H area across the river.

History and garden village Heijplaat: It is one of the port areas with an important cultural-historical value in the city. The old head office has been completely renovated. The main part of this dates from the years 1913–1916 and has a monumental marble floor and a boardroom and commissioner’s room in Art Deco style. This characteristic building, the former RDM Submarine Wharf and the

During a walk through the RDM grounds and Heijplaat, you and an architectural guide will explore the monumental main building, the former Submarine Wharf and the garden village and see how new life is being given while preserving history.

Tip! Also visit the Garden village Vreewijk with UrbanGuides.