Construction has started on MVRDV’s interior design for NIO House Rotterdam, the first showroom in the Netherlands for the electric car manufacturer. The design mixes the rugged and bold expression of the city of Rotterdam with the sophisticated yet warm aesthetic of the NIO brand. At the same time, it embraces NIO’s signature approach to its retail locations – which incorporate welcoming elements such as a café, event space, and children’s play area – to create a flexible interior space that contributes to the vitality of its location on one of the city’s most prestigious shopping streets.

Situated among the cafés and clothing stores of Meent, NIO House Rotterdam will use moving elements to take full advantage of its location in a corner unit alongside a canal. While the main façade onto the street will showcase the company’s cars, the side façade can be opened thanks to sliding windows and the café bar inside can be extended through these open windows to create a canal-side outdoor café on sunny days. Meanwhile, the most prominent corner will make space for a “hero view” of one of the cars, with the wall behind it providing a backdrop of local artworks.

With features such as a “crane table” hung on pulleys, exposed concrete columns, and ruggedly engineered details, and the project provides touches of Rotterdam character to accentuate the pure and minimalist NIO vision. Bright accent colours of blue, red, and yellow complement the white and caramel colours of the interior to further unite the NIO brand and the character of Rotterdam.

NIO House Rotterdam is expected to open its doors in March 2023. It will be soon followed by the second NIO House in the Netherlands, located in Amsterdam.