Schouwburgplein Rotterdam

Statement

The main goal of the design was making the square more attractive, an attraction in itself even. The program of the buildings surrounding the square are attracting visitors for leisure activities, in daytime and at night. There is of course the biggest cinema of Rotterdam on the square, the main theatre and the concert building; but also restaurants and bars with terraces and shops.
This program needs an attractive space, yet empty enough to be creatively filled in by its users. A stage for the city, that can change its identity like a chameleon changes color. The emptyness also allows one to enjoy the skyline of the city form inside the city. The surrounding buildings seem to form the sidewings of a stage.
The red crane-like objects were designed to enhance the square's attractiveness and this is why they were made interactive. You insert a coin and then they can be moved, together forming a mechanical ballet. (Fanny Smelik)