MVRDV - The Sax

The Sax

The Sax

Named for its saxophone-like silhouette of two buildings connected by a bridge at 100 metres high, with its swinging façade The Sax will enrich the skyline of Rotterdam. The project will complete the collection of iconic buildings on Wilhelminapier at Rotterdam's Rijnhaven, and with its 912 apartments will make a significant contribution to the city's housing demand. With the project entering the next phase of development in 2023, the construction of The Sax is expected to take approximately four years.

Rotterdam already has a fine collection of high-rise buildings, with a particular concentration at Wilhelminapier, home to some of the city’s most recognisable skyscrapers. The Sax is a quirky addition to this group, a silver-coloured building comprising two residential towers: the 180-metre “Havana” and 82-metre “Philadelphia”. These are bridged by a golden beam, while the connection through the plinth at the base completes the design’s recognisable saxophone-inspired silhouette. That silhouette, along with the façade design that undulates as it approaches the top of the towers, illustrates the jazzy character of Rotterdam.

Holding more than 912 apartments with an average size of 72 square metres, The Sax makes a significant contribution to meeting the huge demand for new housing in the city centre. It is not only the largest residential building on Wilhelminapier, but also the project with the most apartments, for both purchase and rental, for middle-income Rotterdammers.


The Sax aims to be a vertical residential district, a community with shared facilities and its own squares. The residents will be able to meet each other in several places: from the shared garden to the collective roof terrace on top of the gold-coloured beam that connects the two towers, which offers spectacular views of the harbours. The plinth is nine metres high at the corners and has a transparent appearance. The first floors make room for the new trees on the quay. The balconies get deeper towards the top, which means that residents on all floors can enjoy optimal daylight and views.

“The Sax adds a new and recognisable silhouette to the collection of existing buildings on the pier, which together form a beautiful collection of towers”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “The Sax means considerable densification and space saving for the city. If you were to build 912 homes in typical Rotterdam blocks, you would need an enormous amount of space that is not available in that part of Rotterdam. The Wilhelminapier is the most densely built-up piece of land in the Netherlands, and it is also very interesting from an architectural point of view.”

As a collective residential building with a range of facilities, The Sax pays a lot of attention to sustainable and shared mobility. The building is a stone's throw from the metro and tram stops on Wilhelminaplein. For residents, the plinth of the building offers parking space for 1,800 bicycles. There is room for 346 cars, a large portion of which will park in the fully automatic parking system, which is visible from the outside. In The Sax, 900 square metres of extra space has been reserved for public functions. In addition to shops and restaurants, neighbourhood facilities and sports facilities can also be located there, which the entire neighbourhood can use.

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