Zalmhaven, Rotterdam • 1992 - 1996
Apartment building with 153 apartments and commercial space
Client: Amstelland Vastgoed, Rotterdam

The Zalmhaven apartment building is situated at the interface of a number of areas that differ strongly in scale and character. To the north and south there are large office blocks in the ‘post-war reconstruction’ scale of approximately 25 metres high. To the west there is the Scheepstimmermanslaan, where the characteristic buildings from the previous century determine the atmosphere. To the east there are the ‘Hoge Heren’, two black high-rise apartment blocks that harmonize with the high-rise of the Boompjes and Kop van Zuid districts. To the south of the 150-metre-long building there is a small urban park, the only green element in the neighbourhood.
The apartment block harmonizes with the vicinity but nevertheless has its own distinct character. It rises up 11 storeys, consisting of a main volume of 6 storeys with a shorter block with maisonettes set back a little on a socle. The various volumes have their own material application: brick, light and dark-coloured concrete, wood, aluminium, and stucco work. This distribution ensures that the building gives the impression of a light, horizontal volume that evokes the notion of a ship.
In order not to protrude above the historical buildings of the Scheepstimmermanslaan, the building is not higher than 5 storeys in this street. The corner of this low-rise block rests upon columns that continue the straight alignment of the ‘ship’, while the set-back block follows the transition of the Scheepstimmermanslaan to the narrower street profile of the Van Vollenhovenstraat. A two-storey car park is situated to the north of the building.
The apartment block has 153 apartments that differ greatly in dimensions and price. All the apartments have a balcony or roof garden on the south side and offer a view of the park. The apartments on the upper floors look out across the surrounding buildings to the skyline of the Kop van Zuid. Shops, commercial premises, and studio apartments occupy the ground floor so that there is a lively ambience at street level.