mauroparravicini architects

The Groundscraper is a visionary tower designed for the development in height of the city of Rotterdam in the site of the former GGD building, owned by the City of Rotterdam and the developer AM. This study is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Mauroparravicini, Kartonkraft, Noha, Openfabric under the common name of “Urban Arcipelago” together with Royal HaskoningDHV. On top of the existing buildings is placed a “sky-plinth”. It is an ode to the ‘Rotterdam layer’ at 25 meters height, and it adds a new typology to the Rotterdam high-rise vocabulary.

In this study our team shows how the engineering process of topping up existing buildings can dramatically improve the density and potential of the city without breaking down the existing fabric of Rotterdam. Thus, the new layers of the building are literally built on top of the existing structure instead of removing its history. This method is possible because of the direct and two way interaction between engineering, architecture, and urban research. This mix of practices allows for new perspectives. The use of wooden and steel structures as well as a thorough analysis of the potential of the site has led to this innovative solution.

The book “Licht Verdicht” containing our study can be downloaded here: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/bna-downloads/documents/BNA_lichtverdicht_v26-compleet_loresl.pdf