Stand Out Confidently, Rotterdam

Modern city girl, Rotterdam

Unlike other cities in Europe, Rotterdam is a modern built city. I higly recommend you, especially if you’re an architect, to visit this city. Its skyline is always changing. There are many things to do amid Rotterdam’s skyscrapers. If other cities likened a classic lady, this city more likened city girl who loves fashion and beauty. The creative and jaw dropping architectural style all over the city brings out her confidence. I see Rotterdam seems like a fashionable city girl which wears a highly branded stuff from head to toe. If you prefer a classical European, no need to visit this city, however if you want to see something different and modernity of Europe, it is worth to visit Rotterdam, Netherlands. 

Beautiful and elegance structure

So, here is my recommendation list of “What to see, try, and visit in Rotterdam”

1. Spido tour- Erasmus Bridge

Erasmusparkeergarage, Willemsplein 85

Rotterdam is the biggest and busiest harbor port in the world. If you want to witness and experience their (high technology) largest port in the world, you can try Spido tour. I just thought my father when I experienced it by myself. I will surely back again with bring my father along next time. My father owns his own cargo and expedition company in Indonesia. He will be thrilled and excited to be able to see how Rotterdam port is growth 10-20x times faster than Indonesia one. Hopefully, this can be achieved someday. Temporarily, I will just give him my photos of the port and cargo technology in Rotterdam.

Papa and his world

Accessibility:

From the central station, use Tram Line 7 to “Willemsplein” stop

OR 

Underground LINE D or E direction Slinge or Spijkenisse board in station Leuvehaven

Our cruise ship by Spido

The port of Spido Tour is right beside Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam

Inside our cruise to be prepared for on board. Lets Goooooo!!!

In the top of the cruise. I felt like in the middle of a fashion show with Rotterdam as the designer showing of its newest collection of architectural fashion

The Famous Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. This Bride to be was so happy. Jump around right-left-corner to corner and asking her fiancee to take so many photos

Waterbus in Rotterdam. Waterbus is a similar kind of taxi but operates in the river. They even have this kind of transportation as a Harbor city.

Right after my cruise tour finished. Now, I want to move to my next destination. Guess what? That cubical house of Rotterdam!!! Excited, excited, excited~~

 2. Rotterdam Cubic House

Once you are in the Rotterdam, it is a must to visit this Cubical House museum. It is located in Overblaak Street, beside Blaak Subway Station. There are 38 small cubes and two so called “Super Cube”, all attached to each other. The Cubic House was designed by Piet Blom who see his design as a tree and the entire complex as an forest. The Architect sor designers there must be feeling happy to see how this city girl doesn’t give them any restrictions or limitation to create any design concept. 

So here it is, we were in front of this cubical house. Fascinating right that human can really able to go inside to that cubic-cubic house, woah! 

I was so overwhelmed with All the architectural styles in Rotterdam, I can imagine how limitless their designers imagination. 

The pencil building. How big or wide the paper needed with a pencil as big as that?

3. Euromast

Parkhaven 20, 3016 GM Rotterdam, Netherlands

Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam. Oh ok, lets start my count list. So I’ve visited Twin tower in Malaysia, Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan, Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, Macau Tower in China, Umeda Tower, Skytree Tower and Tokyo Tower in Japan, Eiffel Tower in France, Pisa Tower in Italy and last Euromast Tower in Netherlands. Ah, I forgot to mention Monas Tower in Indonesia, lol. It seems every country thinks that tower is somewhat symbolize a country pride. They, we all now, have a secret competition to try build “The tallest tower” in the world. It seems every country that I’ve ever visited has its own tall tower as their landmark. Not bad Indonesia, you also have one. Maybe I should visit Dubai (Burj Khalifa) then to add my tower collections, lol.

Anyway Euromast Tower was designed by "Hugh Maaskant" constructed between 1958 and 1960. Let me mention the structural part a bit, you can skip this part if you think it is tooooo way toooo yawnful (warning : it is a boring part). The tower is a concrete structure with a circle shape (column), not sure the diameter and wall thickness but it must be very thick. Based on what I read in Rotterdam, it is built on a concrete block of 1,900,000 kg (4,200,000 lb), wow just wooow. It is obvious that the designer want to put the centre of gravity in the base of structure. When we talked about Taipei 101 tower, it uses a big Tunned Mass Damper located in their middle of top floor to withstand the wind load and earthquake load. To make it easy to understand, Euromast uses a super heavy concrete to minimize the swaying movement due to wind load and earthquake load. While Taipei 101 uses a super heavy big ball put in the middle of structure to restraint this sway movement. Similar concept, similar solution from both structure designers to solve a skyscraper main problem: Swaying. Yeah, if you hike higher, the wind is bigger right? That is the main problem for tower structure. The wind and earthquake load is able to make tower sways. Enginner must think the structural solution for it. 

Euromast Opening hour and Entrance Price :