The first completed project by MVRDV in Rotterdam is a rooftop addition to an existing monumental building containing dwellings and workspaces. Three bedrooms, one for parents and two adjoining childrens’ rooms, form tiny houses that ensure the privacy of each family member. The houses are accessed via a suspended spiral stairs from the loft-like living room. The two spiral stairs to the two childrens’ houses coil around each other to form a double helix stairs à la Michelangelo or Chateau Chambord. The houses are placed on the large rectilinear roof surface in such a way that they form a small number of outdoor spaces (houses, squares, streets and lanes) that make up a rooftop village.

The ‘village’ is enclosed by a parapet with windows that offer views of the street. Trees, tables, open-air showers and benches complete the village scene. All elements – houses, parapet, floors and ‘street furniture’ – are finished in polyurea onto which a thin, sky-blue coat of polyurethane has been added to crown the monumental building.

The extension is an example of the growing trend to exploit the urban roofscape for new living and working spaces. It is a prototype for a new way of increasing urban density by adding roof life to the city. The project involved research into extra costs for structure, infrastructure and additional finishes with the ultimate aim of achieving a ‘ground price’ for the raised ground plane that is lower than that for street level.

Comment from Eric Vreedenburgh, specialist in rooftop buildings:
At last a rooftop structure that is about more than placing a banal object on a roof. This is not only the addition of a volume but also an intervention that generates a fully fledged living environment. A big complement to MVRDV for its design, to the Didden family for its perseverance, and to the neighbourhood for agreeing to this unique roofscape without a single objection. (Is the Netherlands perhaps becoming a little more tolerant again?) This intervention is also a reason to maintain Zestienhoven airport, since this ‘rooftop structure’ forms a landmark from the sky.

photo's Eric Vreedenburgh
(expect first photo: MVRDV)