View from the top: Rotterdam Rooftop Walk rises 30m above the city

The Rotterdam Rooftop Walk, a 600m-long orange carpet set 30m up, has opened to visitors. The temporary installation, designed by Rotterdam Rooftop Days and architecture studio MVRDV, encompasses a bridge across one of Rotterdam’s key streets, the Coolsingel.

Offering the opportunity for a new take on the city, the Rooftop Walk encourages visitors to consider issues such as the housing crisis, the possibilities of renewable energy, and the problems posed by climate change. The heightened perspective allows the 18.5 sq m of flat roofs in Rotterdam to be observed, raising possibilities as to their potential.

‘In 2006, for the celebration of 75 years of Rotterdam’s reconstruction, we designed the Stairs to Kriterion, which attracted almost 370,000 visitors,’ says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. ‘That’s when the idea arose that it would be good to make a sequel to the project. During the Eurovision Song Contest [in 2021], the idea was to make a high stage to honour the winner, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic. I am glad that Rotterdam Rooftop Days has managed to achieve this, and I want to argue for a further sequel: we should not only occupy our roofs and make them greener but also connect them so that we can offer Rotterdammers a new rooftop park. For this, the orange carpet and the bridging of the Coolsingel are a nice initial test case.’

The new space above the city has attracted designers, architects and artists, who are showcasing how roofs can be used for water storage, energy and food production, and greenery. They have created everything from a virtual village to a green design for De Bijenkorf department store’s roof in a demonstration of the potential utilisation of the space. The creatives have set up a hub part way along the elevated route, which navigates the World Trade Center building as well as that of De Bijenkorf.

INFORMATION

Rotterdam Rooftop Walk is open from 26 May to 24 June from 10am to 8pm (entrance €3.50 for adults, children free). Tickets can be booked via rotterdamsedakendagen.nl or rooftopwalk.nl