A progressive trade city lined with unique architecture
Rotterdam is a leading port city with a population of around 640,000, known for the world-famous Port of Rotterdam. As the second-largest city in the Netherlands, it has developed in the delta region where the Rhine, Maas, and Scheldt rivers converge into the North Sea. The city’s primary industries revolve around shipbuilding and heavy industry, and its trade volume ranks among the highest in Europe. A significant amount of imports from around the world to Europe pass through Rotterdam. Close to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, it is also a popular destination for Japanese visitors.
As you walk around Rotterdam, you’ll encounter many innovative and unique examples of modern architecture. Just a short walk from the central station, you’ll find a complex with a facade that features multifaceted shapes, twisted windows, and bold colors. The unconventional, challenging, and playful designs of the buildings never fail to capture attention. These bold architectural styles might reflect the individualistic and free-spirited nature of the Netherlands.
The food market that became a new symbol of the city
One of the most striking features of Rotterdam is the Markthal, a food market that resembles a rolled-up cake at first glance. Completed in 2014, this building has become a new landmark in the city, designed by the architectural collective MVRDV based in Rotterdam. The central part of the market is covered by a massive, vibrant mural painted by a Dutch artist, which stretches across both the walls and the ceiling. Over 100 fresh food stores, restaurants, and cafés line the space. The outer arch of the building houses 228 residential units, offering residents the unique opportunity to look down on the market from their windows.
At the market, a wide variety of products are on display, including cheeses, hams, sausages, vegetables, alcohol, and chocolates. There is also a café area where light snacks can be enjoyed, and the space was bustling with both tourists and locals. The tall, arching ceiling adds a sense of openness, while the vibrant, colorful murals uplift the mood, evoking a feeling of excitement and stimulating one’s appetite.
The stalls are organized within steel frame units, with each shop creatively arranging its space. Spotlights mounted on the outer edges of the frames uniformly illuminate the floors in front of the stores. Additionally, simple yet effective interior lighting, such as track-mounted spotlights and display case lighting, highlights products. The predominant color temperature of the lighting is around 3000K, providing a warm, inviting glow.
What intrigued me the most about this building was “how they are lighting up the colorful, arch-shaped ceiling.”
I had an inkling that there must be some spotlights or other light fixtures mounted somewhere on top of the frame units, shining upwards, but I couldn’t easily spot them as I walked around. I tried going up to the second floor, looking from various angles, and eventually, I managed to find them near the center of the building—hidden within the greenery of a rooftop garden. It turns out that the spotlight fixtures were cleverly concealed by the plants, ensuring they didn’t stand out.
The use of small spotlights, arranged closely together, likely aimed to evenly illuminate the grass, creating a soft, diffused light. At the peak of the arches, these spotlights directed their beams upwards, subtly lighting the ceiling and amplifying the spacious, open feel of the space. The thoughtful integration of lighting and greenery really brought out the grandeur and airiness of the architecture.
Along the walls, bracket-type uplights are installed. Upon closer inspection, it’s noticeable that the spacing between the fixtures is quite wide, which leads to some uneven lighting on the wall. If the ceiling had been a plain, single-color surface, the light inconsistency might have been more noticeable. However, in the grand scheme of things, this unevenness isn’t very apparent, as it gets overshadowed by the overwhelming colors around it. You’d almost need to consciously focus on it to even notice. Whether this was intentional or not, this subtle variation in lighting actually seems to add depth to the artwork’s vibrant colors, creating a sense of three-dimensionality. It was an unexpected yet intriguing discovery.
The Markthal is connected to the station via an underground passage, which also houses a typical supermarket. Interestingly, the color temperature of the lighting here is around 3000K, giving it a warm, inviting atmosphere. This was quite a surprise, especially when compared to the usual supermarket lighting in the Netherlands or Japan, where temperatures typically range from 3500K to 5000K (cooler, whiter light). The warm ambiance of this supermarket felt refreshing, almost like stepping into a different kind of retail environment. The lighting here doesn’t focus on highlighting products with spotlights, but rather relies on general ambient light, resulting in a space where the light contrasts are more subtle and the overall feel is softer.
The night in Rotterdam is a delight to behold
Walking through the streets of Rotterdam at night, the first thing that catches the eye is the bustling port area along the Maas River, with cranes and ships unloading their cargo. Though there were no workers visible during the night, the cateneary lights adorning the ships and port structures brightly illuminate the riverside, creating a lively and welcoming atmosphere—far from any sense of darkness or isolation.
As I walked from my accommodation along the river, passing small bridges and under elevated roads, I noticed how lighting played a role in highlighting the various elements of the city. Of course, there are streetlights, but it’s the subtle lighting design that adds a layer of vibrancy to the environment, making it feel safe and welcoming—even in an unfamiliar place. Rather than simply illuminating the streets with harsh, monotonous light, the lighting traces the contours of the cityscape, gently guiding pedestrians along their path.
In Rotterdam, known for its modern architecture, accent lighting is often used on building facades, particularly on apartment buildings. During the day, cranes are just part of the industrial landscape, but at night, they are bathed in red and yellow lights, giving them an almost dinosaur-like appearance from certain angles. It’s a playful and striking way that lighting transforms everyday structures into something entirely new and engaging.
Another striking sight I noticed was the absence of curtains in the apartments. This meant that the interiors were fully visible from the outside. At first, I thought it might be just one apartment where the residents had a particular reason for not using curtains. However, as I walked around for a while, I realized that there were surprisingly many rooms without curtains.
During the day, when it’s bright outside and the interiors are darker, the light reflected on the windows makes it difficult for people to see inside. But at night, the situation reverses, and external eyes are more likely to gaze in. From a typical Japanese perspective, we tend to think that, for reasons of security and privacy, it’s customary to close the curtains at night. However, it seems that in Rotterdam, this is not the case. I saw a similar sight in Amsterdam as well, so it seems that people in the Netherlands may prefer a more open lifestyle, not overly concerned with the gaze of others.
