MVRDV has won the international design competition for the Shift Embassy, a new cultural destination in Rotterdam that aims to inspire ecological and social transformation through architecture, education, and public engagement.
Commissioned by the social enterprise Shift, the winning proposal, titled Rotterdam ROCKS!, reimagines the building as a publicly accessible landscape along the Maas River. The design features seven stacked, rock-like volumes connected by terraces, green spaces, exhibition routes, gathering areas, and viewing platforms, creating a vertical extension of the surrounding riverside environment.
The project will anchor Rotterdam’s future Waterkant district, a mixed-use neighborhood planned to include 3,750 homes, schools, maker spaces, offices, cultural venues, restaurants, an urban sports campus, and a new train station.
At its core will be The Elysium, a 5,000-square-meter immersive exhibition designed to encourage visitors to experience sustainable futures through art, storytelling, and real-world examples of environmental innovation. The development will also include a 200-room hotel, education and event spaces, a food hall, restaurant, and observation deck.
The project also serves as a living laboratory for low-carbon construction. Shift and the design team plan to openly document the building process, testing and showcasing innovative construction methods that reduce embodied carbon and environmental impact.
Selected from 80 international entries, the winning team includes MVRDV with collaborators Arup, Arcadis, DGMR, SB&Co.design, and Joris Laarman Labs. The proposal will now enter a public participation process ahead of further design development.
Learn more at MVRDV.