While the appearance of the façades is informed by history, the selection of materials takes a more innovative approach. Of the 11 blocks, two are made with bricks created from recycled material, reducing the embodied carbon of the construction. A further three façades use Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) panels, taking advantage of the building’s expansive south-facing façade to generate electricity and reduce the building’s operational carbon emissions.

The plinth levels are designed for maximum transparency, hosting a variety of public amenities which will add to the life of the neighbourhood, including a concept store, bakery, and a bike café next to the entrance to the building’s cycle parking. The plinth also provides the entrance to the project’s three-storey, 230-space subterranean parking garage. At the western end of the plinth is one of the project’s most unusual features: due to a quirk of land ownership, the site is intruded upon by a car-parking ramp that is part of its neighbour, the Central Post building. Because of Central Post’s historic status, the ramp cannot be removed – and so instead the design encases it in glass, turning the still-functional car ramp into the centrepiece of a one-of-a-kind bar. With this unique feature the Wokkelbar (“Spiral Bar”) will become an intriguing new addition to the nightlife of the Schiekadeblok, typifying the gritty, “can-do” attitude that epitomises Rotterdam.