COVER STORY
I fell in love with Rotterdam BECAUSE OF THE ARCHITECTURE
TEXT Romy Lange, Celine Boute & Tessa Burger
PHOTOGRAPHY Ruben Stam
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Imola Bérczi has always had a passion for and a love of architecture. Four years ago, she and Wouter de Jonge teamed up to start their own firm and have been working together as WOMO Architects ever since. Their latest assignment is the AIR building, previously known as the Beursgallery and home to Hudson’s Bay, in the centre of Rotterdam. Imola is the lead architect on this project, creating a building which is sustainable and future-proof.
WHAT HAS YOUR WORKING CAREER LOOKED LIKE SO FAR? Well, I am originally from Canada. I had been here as a student before and made the decision to move to the Netherlands in 2008. What was originally meant to be a one-year experience soon became a fourteen-year adventure. Sometimes I joke that I came for the weather and stayed for the food, but actually it was all about the architecture. I fell in love with Rotterdam because of it.
IN THIS ISSUE WE’RE FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABILITY. WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO YOU? It is obviously an ongoing topic. We have thought a lot about it over the past years, and with the latest research I believe there is going to be a strong momentum towards improving buildings and cities in particular. We are going to have to think about how a building will last not only through the lens of today’s users, but also those of the coming decades, in terms of what our sustainability principals will be. We have to focus on a building’s future and past potential, and think about how to unlock those so they don’t become stranded assets.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE ROTTERDAM CENTRAL DISTRICT, WHAT IS GOING WELL IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY, AND WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED? Personally, I have a lot of admiration for the Rotterdam Central District Association. I think there’s an incredible overlap of stakeholders between the city of Rotterdam, employers, social leaders and so on. That doesn’t happen in every city. What we saw throughout the process of
