Kraaijvanger Architects
Blaak 40
3011 TA Rotterdam
The Netherlands

+31(0)10 498 92 92
info@fraterniza.com

De Herwaert

Rotterdam

request

Finally a park in the centre of Rotterdam

Where Westersingel 18,19,20 has stood for decades as a disruptive entity on Westersingel, De Herwaert gives the opportunity to restore and strengthen Rotterdam's historic golden edge. It also creates a new connection between the city centre and Wijkpark het Oude Westen. De Herwaertoffers an accessible passage that connects Singel, Park, garden, residents, visitors and entrepreneurs and enriches the city.

The extensive and very complete team is formed together with FULLHOUSE, FULLSPEED, ECHO Urban Design, Studio RAP, De Makerij, Van Rossum advisory engineers and Wolf Dikken consultants.All enthusiastic, driven and knowledgeable Rotterdam parties.

A social ecological link in the city

The Herwaert is essentially about adding value by creating connections. Between visitors and businesses, between businesses and businesses, between residents and residents, the city centre and the Oude Westen, Westersingel, garden and park, man and nature, city and green, buildings and floors.

With ceramics as the visual language in the Herwaert, from Westersingel to Wijkpark, we found an extremely welcome partner in De Makerij, for the realisation of a social ceramics workshop in the pavilion and basement. De Makerij is a Rotterdam social enterprise that wants to make creative craftsmanship visible in the city again. To this end, it lets young and old experience making for themselves in courses and workshops. It also involves people with a disadvantage on the labour market in its workshop and activities.

De Herwaert's architecture is indebted to the past and the context without historicising. It joins the golden rim in both height and expression, with rich architectural layering. The architectural elements that give the various properties of the golden fringe their distinctive diversity and simultaneously their cohesion were examined. These features form the basis of a new, contemporary architecture for the premises at 18,19,20 Westersingel.

The original articulation of three buildings is brought back. Three expressive facades restore the rhythm of the golden edge, each with a unique articulation in plinth, middle section and crown. Sculptural details such as frames and lintels will be 3D-printed in Rotterdam by studio RAP from sustainable, weather-resistant materials - partly from reused rubble from the part of the building that is to be demolished.

Westersingel 19 will have the most generous and expressive design with a receding plinth, protruding balconies and refined natural stone details. In the rear facades, too, the tripartite division is restored, with balconies and outdoor spaces.

Everything comes together in and around the centrally positioned passage. The green sightline connecting Westersingel with the Herwaerttuin and the neighbourhood park. Large windows turn the passage into a lively meeting place, where living, working and relaxing merge seamlessly. Large ceramic frames frame the passage and offer a view of the living room with daytime catering, the living/working entrance and the green passage to the garden and the neighbourhood park.

Thanks to its pleasant dimensions and open shape, the passageway feels light and spacious. Transparent walls provide social interaction and safety, while circular 3D printed ceramic tiles with water and nature motifs create a playful connection between city and park.

Overdag een levendige doorgang, ’s avonds afgesloten voor geborgenheid, blijft De Herwaertpassage een iconische en dynamische plek waar ontmoeting en verwondering samenkomen.

De gebouwen op het achterterrein worden gesloopt. Hiervoor in de plaats komt een veel compacter glazen paviljoen. Het paviljoen is een inspirerende ontmoetingsplek en de thuisbasis van De Makerij. Dankzij het transparante ontwerp kunnen bezoekers de keramiekmeesters aan het werk zien en hun creaties bewonderen. Naast een atelier biedt het paviljoen toegang tot de kelderruimtes, waar workshops en cursussen plaatsvinden in een goed uitgeruste makersruimte. De levendige activiteit van makers en bezoekers en de transparantie van het paviljoen zorgen voor extra sociale controle en versterkt de dynamiek in en rond de tuin.

Bij het opstellen van het woonprogramma zijn we met succes de uitdaging aangegaan om binnen een driepandige structuur een centraal ontsluitingsconcept te integreren. Hierbij respecteren we de bestaande draagmuren en bieden we een gevarieerde mix aan woningen. De Herwaert biedt 22 middeldure en 8 duurdere koopwoningen in vier typen, geschikt voor diverse doelgroepen zoals jongeren, starters, ouderen, stellen en gezinnen. Hier vinden bewoners een balans tussen stedelijk wonen, sociale interactie en rust.

meaning

Both socially and ecologically, De Herwaert is going to add a lot of value. With De Herwaert, we put the diversity of connections literally and figuratively at the centre: in the middle building, they can even be experienced bundled together. Residents, visitors, passers-by meet each other in and around the passage. With contemporary frames, we give the different worlds each its own framework. In this way, we connect them and make them consciously experienceable. The windows to the houses, the opening to the passage, the views from the passage to the living room and the living/working entrance, the pond edge, the roof of the pavilion: here we emphasise each transition with a frame, here each frame testifies to a transition.

The nature-inclusive Herwaert

The demolition of Westersingel 19 and its extension will be done in a circular way: bricks will be crushed for 3D-printed ceramics, wood will be given a new function, and construction debris will feed the green roof. Wherever possible, we use bio-based and C2C-certified materials.

The Herwaert serves as a pilot for emission-free building within XPLOR, an expert group of experience experts for sustainable building projects in Rotterdam. and contributes to the development of a Paris Proof calculation model for sustainable building in Rotterdam.

The Herwaert will have an emphatic function as a green link in the area. First of all, we will therefore create high biodiversity on two levels in the Herwaert garden. The higher part supports drought-loving plants, while the lower one functions as a rain garden. The layout attracts animal species, including the dwarf bat, stone bumblebee and black redstart, and provides food, safety and shelters. We install nesting stones, branch rills and stacking walls and provide obstacle-free routes and targeted lighting for bats. Trees play a crucial role in shade, evaporation and water management. We preserve existing trees and integrate them into the design, as in the case of the garden wall and tree avenue of the District Park.

project details
name
De Herwaert
built
2026
location
Rotterdam
design
2025
client
FULLHOUSE
advisors
FULLSPEED, ECHO Urban Design, Studio RAP, De Makerij, Van Rossum raadgevende ingenieurs and Wolf Dikken adviseurs
team
David Hess, Mijke Rood, Savanne van Harrewijnen
GFA
10000 m²