Largest floating office building in the world opens in Rotterdam

It stays afloat as sea level rises

With a bottle of champagne, King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander opened the Floating Office Rotterdam on 6 September. The building in the Rijnhaven harbour basin is the biggest floating office building in the world, local authorities report.

The structure is capable of staying afloat as sea level rises and falls, that is about 2 metres every day. Moreover, with a green sedum roof, it can store rainwater and is completely climate neutral.

A building of the future

Since March, the largest floating office building in the world, the so-called Floating Office, has been located in the Rijnhaven. Thanks to its multiple properties that make it resilient to climate change and rising sea levels, local authorities have a reason to call it the building of the future.

The Floating Office is 3,700 square metres, built entirely of wood, reusable and recyclable materials. On the roof are located 900 m2 of solar panels and there is a herb garden that attracts all kinds of insects. Water from the Rijnhaven will be used for the cooling of the building. Moreover, the building is completely self-sufficient and circular and can be dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere.

The building is home to the headquarters of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), an international think tank for climate issues and an initiative of various countries and the World Bank. It will also host a restaurant with a terrace.

The Floating Office is the brainchild of Architect Nanne de Ru, co-founder of Red Company and Powerhouse Company, jointly responsible for the project. He explained that the location was carefully selected – as in the Rijnhaven, the tide causes water to rise and fall by 2 metres every day. “A climate-resilient world is one of the biggest challenges for current and future generations. With this building, we want to show that real estate development can also take the initiative in solving these climate-related threats,” he was quoted saying on the occasion.