Technical and Architectural Study - The Market Hall in Rotterdam, a Hybrid Market - The Mixing of Functions at a Building Scale

Yassine O.

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Technical and Architectural Study - The Market Hall in Rotterdam, a Hybrid Market - The Mixing of Functions at a Building Scale

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Themes

Technical study, architectural study, Rotterdam Market Hall, hybrid market, building functions, building scale, Netherlands, MRDV architecture firm, living environment, sustainable housing, hygiene, urban renewal, district dynamism, urban renovation, Blaak railway station, logistics, glass facades, BRE Environmental Assessment Method

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After five years of work, the city of Rotterdam inaugurated in October 2014, the first covered market of the Netherlands which cost 175 million euros. Located in the city centre and close to Blaak Railway Station, the Market Hall is part of the renovation project of this historic district. Our work mainly consisted of a study case and an exchange with the MRDV architecture firm. We tried to understand and analyse this complex building to see if it reached its goal of revitalising the district of Laude. It was also done to see whether a mixed-use building could reach the same goal as a functional mixing district and create a pleasant living environment. With its market stalls, shops, restaurants, housing, underground parking, the Market Hall is characterised as a new urban typology offering a mix of functions and sustainable housing units. All these elements are compliant with the drastic Dutch laws regarding hygiene, acoustics and the contribution of natural light in the building.

A classic context for an unusual commission
1. Reasons for building the Market Hall
2. The architects
3. Historical overview
4. Addressing and radiation
Functions, temporality and accessibility
1. Accessibility and mobility
2. Opening time, type of public and visits
3. A typology that combines consumption and habitat
4. Access to apartments
5. Activities offered by the market
6. Market Logistics
Characteristics of a functional and original arch
1. The building site, the project's evolution
2. Materials and structures
3. Sustainable development and ecologically responsible aspect
4. Comparison with other buildings
5. Artistic part: the fresco
6. Acoustics
7. The orientation and brightness of the building

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[...] Through this study, we have demonstrated that MVRDV architects have succeeded in proposing a bold concept, mixing in the same building, housing and infrastructure related to food. The Market Hall is in the process of becoming a key venue because it combines imposing architecture, an innovative structure and a fresco with the dimensions of the building. This project could have been considered extravagant because the typologies of users are opposed but the designers were able to differentiate them even while regrouping them in the same building. [...]

[...] Characteristics of a functional and original arch This building has an arch shape with a total surface of square meters. It is 120 meters long meters wide and 40 meters high. The glass front of the Market Hall The building site, the project's evolution Pictures of the building site The construction work started in October 2009 by an agreement between the two contractors Mobilis and Martens Van Ord. One year was dedicated to archaeological excavations. Formerly, the site was occupied by a garage, a car park and a school. [...]

[...] The Market Hall in its urban environment The market hall is not marked by any specific identification: the public entry is through the two glass facades, facing east and west. On each side, three porticos crossing the glass wall, allow visitors to enter the building. The east side opens onto Binnen Square. This entry seems to be more important than that on the West because of its opening on this vast public place between various flows. Many people converge to this square and the east facade can be assimilated to the entrance of the building. [...]

[...] Technical drawing of the fresco Acoustics Half of the apartments in the Market Hall have a window that opens onto the interior of the market. The windows of the apartments have therefore been designed with three insulating layers which considerably reduce the noise and olfactory nuisance. The fresco also plays an important role in the acoustics of the market thanks to its thickness of aluminum. The orientation and brightness of the building Overlook on the market Overlook on the city To provide maximum natural light in the apartments, improve the quality of life of the inhabitants and respect the Dutch drastic laws concerning daylight, architects had to call upon several parameters. [...]

[...] This remarkable project fills the criteria ordered by the municipality, such as a covered market place, houses, a supermarket, a car park in order to strengthen the city center of Rotterdam. Historical overview The city of Rotterdam was founded in 1270 with the construction of a dam on the Rotte River. The colony developed first around this dam, and then extended gradually to the district of the station. In the sixteenth century, Rotterdam became home to a massive number of migrants and the activities turned chiefly to the herring fishery. Because of the large number of businesses related to fisheries, new dwellings were purpose-built to accommodate fishermen. [...]

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