NEW, ROTTERDAM, HOTEL

The cinema and offices that were previously on this location have been replaced by a new hotel along the Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam. Since the basement is part of the flood defence work of the Schiedamsedijk this basement has been maintained. Quay level and ground floor accommodate the lobby, halls and restaurants. The construction of the block of rooms above these levels has been executed in a light steel structure. Steel trusses carry the weight from facade to facade, thereby creating a columnless area of 50 by 25 m. This space can be used as one large hall or be divided in multiple smaller ones. 
The design of the structure has been tailored to be compatible with the old pile foundation. For the project of 12.000 m2 only 70 new foundation piles have been placed. To minimise hindrance for the surroundings, a low vibration, quieter piling system was used that was also suitable for installing the piles in the thick layers of rubble of the quay.  
The trusses in the block of rooms have been placed in a regular column structure which is hidden in the separating walls between the rooms. Because of the distance of 4 m between the columns, and the light steel sheet concrete, the main load bearing structure only amounts to 35 kg/m2 steel. The total weight of the building amounts to only 550 kg/m2, which is about 40% of a conventional hotel. 
The freely overhanging awning above the entrance (6 x 10 m) and the overhanging smoking balcony (7,5 x 5 m) at the harbour side are very striking. Special attention was paid to the structure in order to give the building its desired look with the protruding layers.