Rotterdam POWERHOUSE COMPANY

ROTTERDAM At a time when employers are wondering how to draw their staff back to the physical workplace, our jury commended the Floating Office Rotterdam for its spatial variety, connection to nature within a city and mood-lifting atmosphere. ‘You’d want to leave your house to go there and spend time with your colleagues and friends,’ said Ben Adams Architects’ associate director Emma Maiko Holt of the project, which comprises wellbeingoriented workspaces and public facilities like a restaurant and outdoor terrace. Principal and founder of AEDS Ammar Eloueini agreed, attributing much of the appeal to the views over the water in which it floats – the Maas River in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

The Powerhouse Company-designed home for the Global Center on Adaptation is climate-resistant, energy-positive and CO2-negative. The building’s buoyancy makes it responsive to flooding or rising waters, while nearly 900 m2 of photovoltaic panels on the roof generate enough power for the entire space, with the surplus energy routed to the city. ‘Powerhouse Company has really considered climate change and rising sea levels,’ said Holt, ‘and future-proofed its space accordingly.’ powerhouse-company.com