It’s day 11, the penultimate day of our study abroad program! After a good night’s sleep and a meager breakfast, we made our way to the Schieblock building to meet our tour guide Rob. Rob is a member of Rotterdams Milieucentrum, an organization dedicated to the conservation of nature in the city of Rotterdam. After briefly introducing himself and the history of the building, we left for a brief walking tour of the area and the sustainable infrastructure integrated into it. The first area we visited was somewhere I had already walked through a few days prior, but I had never realized how many hidden features there were within the courtyard. There are many angular metal gutters lining the sidewalks within plain sight, but there are also several hidden basins for collecting rainwater above and under the concrete paths.
Then, a couple of blocks down we passed by a row of stores built under a viaduct. From the viaduct is a water runoff pipe that drains into a cleverly built sign that contains a hidden rainwater collection system. Within the system are sensors that detect when the barrels are full, then release water into the ground. The letters “ZoHo” stand for Zomerhofkwartier, which is an outdated business district that is especially susceptible to the effects of heavy rainfall. Because of this, there are many renovation projects around the area to revive and protect it, such as a public garden built atop an abandoned railway. We then followed Rob into Heliport, where I noticed another interesting water drainage system, which involved a slightly slanted sidewalk acting as a gutter and then funneling water into a drain next to the playground.
As we circled back to our starting location, we climbed 13 flights of stairs to find the main event of our tour: DakAkker, the first and largest rooftop farm in the Netherlands, and one of the largest harvestable rooftop gardens in Europe! At first, it didn’t seem like much – just a few edible flowers, bushes, and beeboxes. However, when we rounded the corner I was shocked to see a much larger area filled with mint, lemon verbena, lavender, spring onions, common mullein, a cherry tree, and even a chicken coop! Although the garden didn’t appear massive, it was still impressive to see how well it was flourishing within such an unconventional environment.
Later, our program tour guide Brian took us on a walking tour of downtown Rotterdam. As we meandered the city streets, he explained that all but four buildings in the center of Rotterdam were destroyed by Germany’s brutal bombardment in 1940. This is why the majority of Rotterdam has varied modern architecture, and also why it differs so greatly from cities like Amsterdam, The Hague, and Delft. We learned that many American urban planners offered to help with the reconstruction of Rotterdam, which is part of the reason that the city so strongly resembles an American city and has much less bike infrastructure than I’ve come to expect hete. In fact, it’s one of the least bike-friendly cities in the Netherlands! During our walking tour, we stopped by many of the culturally relevant areas and landmarks of Rotterdam, ending our tour at the Markthal apartment complex/food court for lunch.
With the rest of the day ahead of us, my friends and I decided that we would tour the Kijkkubus (“Show-Cube”) houses! Each three-story house is on a raised pillar to allow for walkways underneath them. I personally thought that it was very interesting to see how the inside of the house was shaped. The slanted walls and windows made the inside feel somewhat cramped, and a lot of the interior furniture had to be custom designed to fit within the confined space. As a continuation of our architectural sightseeing journey, we took the metro southward to see the Fenix museum’s Tornado, built by MAD studio. Although we were unable to go inside it, it was still a gorgeous sight.
Notes on Sustainability
Throughout my experience here, I have noticed that the Dutch tend to make good use of abandoned or unused spaces instead of just letting them rot. This was especially evident with the decommissioned train line near our hotel, part of which is now being turned into a public park. DakAkker is also an exceptional example of this because it both uses land that has already been developed but isn’t being used and benefits the community and environment, which is very sustainable!
I am both looking forward to and sad about tomorrow, so I bid you een goede avond!