The Lobby of the Metropole

Abstract

The lobby of the Metropole, a habitable bridge in Rotterdam In our mobilized epoch considered as the network era, hubs are crucial devices for the orchestration of our cities. Road and building mediate in the quality of our cityscapes like the Randstad in which we live as continuous commuters. The habitable bridge is used as the ultimate typology for the examination of a new form of architecture in which a multitude of urban functions are brought together. The province meets the city, the artificial meets the natural, architecture meets infrastructure. Despite a strong belief in the capacities of architecture and infrastructure, Rotterdam did not manage to merge these two paradigms after the Second World War. Although the ambition is there to merge the boulevard with the river, the south with the north, the street with the building, significant proposals are lacking. Through the use of historical precedents like the multifunctional Boompjes of the Golden Age, the reintroduction of the river as valuable public space is envisioned. The fascination for a multifunctional bridge, merged with the ambitions of Rotterdam, catalyzed by the architectural needs of a new era forms the base for my proposal ‘The Lobby of the Metropole: the Fusion of Architecture and Infrastructure in Tomorrow’s Megalopolis’. METABOLISTIC COLLECTIVE FORM AND THE POTENTIAL OF CONGESTION The city is approached as an organism that comes to life through a multitude of streams. The careful orchestration of urban flows is considered as the main challenge of the urban fabric. The integral design of landscape, architecture and infrastructure could catalyze the quality of our future cities. Previous to my design ‘The Lobby of the Metropole’, I did an extensive research into the ideas of the Japanes Metabolists and the history of Rotterdam. Through a written report called ‘The fusion of architecture and infrastructure in tomorrow’s Megalopolis - The Relevance of the Metabolistic Collective Form in the Network Era’ I have laid the foundation for my design. The acknowledgement of different speeds in the city is integrated in the design of a habitable bridge in which a variety of streams are accomodated, among other: walking, biking, living, working, commuting (tram) and driving (car). The resulting proposal for a multimodal hub exploits densification in favour of urban sprawl. The design acknowledges the potential of metropolitan accumalation instead of considering a new realm as unmanageable congestion. Approaching the infrastructure of the city as architectural challenge provides a new attitude in which landscape (public space), architecture (buildings) and infrastructure (roads) are considered as equal mediators in the city. To improve the quality of Rotterdam, the ground floor of the design is kept free for pedestrians, bikers and public transport. Favouring slow traffic at the expense of cars will improve the habitable quality of the city. The large open ended steel structure accomodates public and private program. Future transformations can easily be processed through the use of a flexible system in which ventilation, data, energy and walls are easily accessible. Programs work through a ‘plug and play’ method.