WTC Rotterdam

BIERGARTEN BACK IN BUSINESS!

On a grim and grey Friday afternoon in early April, Biergarten reopened its doors for the season. Even though it was snowy at the opening, we are confident of a sunny and fun-filled summer at one of the area’s favourite hotspots.

WALK DURING YOUR WORKDAY

On 7 April it was finally time to kick off the brand-new weeting routes, during a special event hosted by the Municipality of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Central District in collaboration with the hiking platform Wandelnet. Weetings are a fresh approach to business discussions, where you literally ‘walk your meeting’. Talking whilst walking kicks your meeting into high gear! After a workshop and explanation about what makes physical activity during, before and after work so fruitful, participants suited words to action on a stroll through our own very walk-worthy RCD.

VINTAGE KILO SHOPPING IN WTC

The World Trade Center Rotterdam turned into the World Vintage Center on the 23rd and 24th of April, when Square Eight Vintage took over this iconic building in the heart of the Rotterdam Central District. They organized a pop-up where vintage lovers could eat their hearts out: with loads of unique and timeless pieces, there was something to find for everyone. Customers pay per kilo, and so were able to upgrade their wardrobe with conscious fashion for only a few bucks. Square Eight travels the whole country with their vintage kilo sales, so keep an eye out for when they return to Rotterdam!

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Rotterdam Central District

MOONBACK

THE BOOKING WEBSITE MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

“We are proving that the platform economy can also take a social and human approach”, says Niels, his enthusiasm shining through. “We’re like fair trade, but then fair tech. A lot of careful thought has gone into designing our hotel-booking concept to be as transparent and fair as possible.” For starters, Moonback presents a geographic and honest listing of all hotels, instead of commercial rankings that put the highest-paying clients at the top. “There are so many shady things going on at these kinds of platforms”, says Niels, who points out that the frustrations he voiced in his post could just as easily apply to virtually every major multinational in the modern platform economy. It just so happened that the first news to pop up in Niels’ feed after a ten-week sabbatical in Japan concerned Booking. com’s request for government relief during the first lockdown. For him, it was the last straw. “Pandering to shareholders and maximizing profit: that’s all so many of these companies care about. Years of fixating on money has led to all sorts of abuses. Privacy violations, tax evasion – you name it.” SOCIAL AND FAIR Niels couldn’t let it pass quietly, and after expressing his concerns in a LinkedIn post that went viral, and the flood

It was while airing his frustration with the modern of reactions that elicited, he platform economy on LinkedIn that Niels Meijssen reckoned it was time to suit first got the idea for Moonback. Two years, four actions to words. There had to cities and a successful investment round later, his be a better and more sustainable fair alternative to conventional booking engines is way. “Within hours, people were an unqualified success. already holding me to my idea to start a crowdfunding campaign”, Niels laughs. A promise being a promise, he got to work on Moonback. “There were a lot of legal bases to cover to assure we’ll abide by our own values.” For example, Moonback is structured on the steward-ownership model, separating profit from shareholder voting rights. “That’s so our business principles won’t be compromised. It’s basically a safeguard to protect our philosophy.” Which is not to say shareholders have no input in what the company does. They are consulted at various points along the way: for instance, about the cap on a founder’s salary. “We get loads of input and that speaks to the level of engagement in our base.” FUTURE PLANS Moonback offers hotel bookings in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Delft already, so how long before we can all book a romantic weekend getaway to Prague or Rome? There’s a whole world out there to conquer, after all. “Our plan is to progress one step at a time from four to fifty cities, and then keep expanding from there.” The company will need more human and financial resources to do that, so a fresh crowdfunding round is also in the works. “We have grand plans, but we need support to get there. Our investors are joining a movement that’s on a mission to change this system from the inside. It’s awesome to see people share our faith.”

“We get loads of input and that speaks to the level of engagement in our base”

Nationaal Archief, Herbert Behrens

RAILWAY POST OFFICE

Rotterdam is continually evolving. The city is famed for its great diversity of 20th-century architecture as well as its newer ultramodern structures. In each issue, we shine a spotlight on one of Rotterdam Central District’s iconic buildings. This time, on the railway post office.

Rotterdam’s former railway post office, added to the national heritage list in 2019, was wholly designed for postal processing and sorting. At 15 storeys, it stands an impressive 52 metres, and stretches 105 metres in length. This towering structure was one of the first to be developed after bombs flattened much of the city in the Second World War.

The building was constructed between 1955 and 1959 for the Dutch state-owned PTT postal service, with the architecture firm Kraaijvanger providing the design. They translated the functional brief into a building of distinctive solidity, comprising a concrete structure finished with brick, artificial stone, glass and metal strip windows by De Vries Robbé. Everything in the building was designed for maximum functionality. Post arrived on a separate platform at Central Station or was unloaded from postal lorries. It was then transported to the upper floor to be sorted and sent back down via a system of slides and chutes. Inside the building there were also several canteens, a medical unit, conference rooms and executive offices.

Stadsarchief Rotterdam, Ary Groeneveld

EDGE OF THE CITY

Art was an integral part of the railway post office as well. From the outset, it was intended to be not only functional, but filled with artworks. More than fifteen well-known local artists supplied work, including Dolf Henkes, Wally Elenbaas, Kees Timmer, Henk de Vos and Gust Romijn. These artworks, which bore no relation to post and were displayed mainly in the stairwells, are still preserved today.

In 1992, the postal sorting facility was relocated to the edge of the city, leaving the railway post office vacant for years. It was finally renovated by a project investor in 2007-2009 and converted into a multi-tenant office building that was renamed Central Post. When the building reopened in 2010, it offered two thousand workspaces and was the most sustainable listed building in the Netherlands. Nowadays, one of the tenants is news media ‘Algemeen Dagblad’ (AD) which is an exciting addition looking at the history of the building. Today, Central Post is an important part of the Rotterdam Central District.

FACTS & FIGURES

ARCHITECT: KRAAIJVANGER COMPLETED: 1959 RENOVATED: 2009 ORIGINAL USE: POSTAL PROCESSING/ SORTING COMPANY CURRENT USE: MULTI-TENANT OFFICE BUILDING FLOORS: 15 DIMENSIONS: 52 METRES TALL, 105 METRES LONG

To read more about this building, take a look at www.wederopbouwrotterdam.nl

FLORIAN BRAAKMAN FOTOGRAFIE

DELFTSESTRAAT 33 Florian is a photographer and artist whose mission is to connect people through audiovisual installations.

SANDER DE BREUK CONSULTANCY

WEENA 435D For Sander, hospitality is a way of life. With his large and diverse network, he helps clients navigate the hospitality industry.

PLUQ STUDIO

DELFTSESTRAAT 17E A studio open to all for superb vocal recording, mixing down tracks and professional music production.

LOER ARCHITECTEN

DELFTSESTRAAT 33 With a passionate team of architects, Loer Architecten designs residential buildings, offices, villas and public interiors, bridging dreams with reality.

JOIN THE ROTTERDAM CENTRAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY

In order to realize our ambitions and to optimally develop the potential of the district, we have been bundling all the knowledge and interest groups in the area into an association since 2009: Rotterdam Central District.

Not only are we aware of and familiar with all of the developments in the area, we are also joining forces in the neighborhood to create a good reputation for the district. We are a catalyst for positive change. We discover, connect and take action to make this happen. in collaboration with organizations, both small and large, investors, residents and the municipality, we are building a more social, green and sustainable area with an authentic and robust reputation. Our association stands up for the interests of your organization. Together we develop the area, we put it on the map. Join our community.

© Iris van den Broek The association keeps you informed of developments of and stories from the neighborhood. We also host various events for the community, from lunch concerts to neighborhood drinks and substantive sessions. In this way, we stimulate connections and possible collaborations, good for expanding or maintaining your network. We join forces to work on area development and a good reputation of the district.

To achieve this we have: • RCD Talks: knowledge sessions about and from the district • RCD Events: network drinks, events and lunch concerts • RCD Q&A: source of information and a brainstorming day for the neighborhood • General meeting: meeting regarding the realization of the area plans • News & updates: various substantive articles, interviews and news updates • Magazine: 10,000 circulation, 4 times a year. RCD members advertise with a discount • RCD Podcast: conversations with entrepreneurs from the area • Various active social media channels: Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook • Monthly online newsletter featuring the latest news from RCD

QUESTIONS OR REMARKS?

Please contact Rob Ittmann +31 (0) 6 22 24 21 77 or mail to: info@rotterdam-centraldistrict.nl

Association Rotterdam Central District Weena 690 (14e verdieping) 3012 CN Rotterdam