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Rotterdam is continually evolving. The city is famed for its great diversity of 20th-century architecture as well as its newer ultramodern buildings.

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In each issue, we shine a spotlight on one of Rotterdam Central District’s iconic buildings. This time on the Groot Handelsgebouw (GHG). The mon - umental building forms a unique contrast to the modern architecture of Rotterdam. The icon of the reconstruction of the city, an open and out - ward-facing, multitenant building. The design was huge, especially by Dutch standards: 220 x 85 metres and 43 metres high. The grand scale of GHG was symbolic for the new dimensions of the city: this is what the ‘new’ Rotterdam ought to look like.

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Rotterdam's Decisiveness

14 May 1940. Rotterdam’s inner city was bombed and 388,000 m2 of com - mercial space was lost. Many entrepreneurs could not afford new offices. World War II was not over, but entrepreneur Frits Pot conceived the idea to combine forces and made a first rough sketch of a multi-business building. Shortly after World War II, these plans were realised. Architectural office Van Tijen en Maaskant was instructed to design the GHG. GHG owes its success to the visionary design by Huig Maaskant (1907-1977). For the design of the largest multitenant business building in the Netherlands, he drew inspiration from the largest multi-business building in the world. He travelled to Chicago to visit the Merchandise Mart. This building was exactly what Maaskant was looking for; impressive architecture, its own transport system and a design aimed at wholesalers.
Het eerste gerealiseerde gebouw, voor Esveha, was ontworpen door J.J.P. Oud. Ten oosten ervan staat een kantoorgebouw ontworpen door Hendriks, Van der Sluys, Van den Bosch en op de hoek een opmerkelijk expressief kantoorgebouw met zalencentrum van H.A. Maaskant. Ten oosten van Esveha waren hotel Metro van architectenbureau Hooijkaas & Van Veen, kantoorgebouwen van de architecten Sitters en Fiolet en het verenigingsgebouw van de Vrijmetselaars van Vermeer & Van Herwaarden. Een fors gebouw van levensverzekeringsmaatschappij Nillmij van Verschoor senior en junior vormde de beëindiging van het blok aan de Schiekade. Aan het Delftseplein lagen gebouwen van de architectenbureaus Lengkeek & Hoogenstraaten en Hendriks, Van der Sluys, Van den Bosch. De bebouwing aan de Schiestraat is in de jaren tachtig gesloopt. In het bouwblok was een kleine expeditiestraat, die slechts vier panden ontsloot. De bebouwing is redelijk gevarieerd qua functie en architectuur.

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Mutli-Tenant Business Building

The building was completely renovated in 2005. Despite its impressive exterior, GHG has proven to be a multi-purpose building. Spaces that once housed wholesalers (groot handelaren) are now occupied by Kleinhandel; a co-working space focused on small creative and tech entrepreneurs (klein handelaren). The Cambridge Innovation Centre (CIC) also established their first European office at GHG in 2016. The ground floor houses several dining experiences, including Lebkov & Sons, VINN Rotterdam, De Nieuwe Poort, The Poke Box, Altijd In De Buurt, Ellis and a new food hall concept in the making.

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Facts & Figures

ARCHITECT: IR. W. VAN TIJEN & H.A. MAASKANT
COMPLETED: 1953
OFFICIALLY OPENED: 3 JUNE 1953 BY QUEEN JULIANA OF THE NETHERLANDS
RENOVATED IN 2005: BY BURO VAN STIGT
COMPANIES THAT CALL GHG HOME: > 450 BUSINESSES
MONUMENTAL STATUS: NATIONAL MONUMENT
FLOOR AREA: > 120,000 M² SIZE: 220 METRES BY 85 METRES AND 43 METRES HIGH
7,000 M² ROOFTOP TERRACE
120.000 M² OFFICE, F&B, RETAIL AND STORAGE SPACE
11 LEVELS
3 COURTYARDS
7 KILOMETRES OF HALLWAYS AND OUTSIDE CORRIDORS
1.5 KM IN LOGISTICS ROUTES ACROSS THREE LEVELS

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