REMEMBERING ROTTERDAM
I was drawn to the Groothandelsgebouw by the interrelationship between its scale, symbolic meaning and historical context; the way the building uncritically reflects the social and economic aspirations and ideology of Rotterdam at that time. The building’s programme and internal layout directly responds to Rotterdam’s rapidly expanding economy, the increase in wholesale consumption, and the rise of the automotive industry. These large scale spatial demands were met by Maaskant in a design that played with the stacking of elements, creating an imposing mass which also fulfilled his own architectural ambitions to create a clear form and a grand gesture towards the city. He embraced monumentality as a means to showcase the contemporaneity of his work, physically reflecting the expansion that characterised post-war Rotterdam. He employed dramatic scale to reflect the rise of modern metropolitan city, culminating in the building as a triumphant image of progress, democracy, and capitalism following the devastation of the war. The Groothandelsgebouw is a reflection of the transition of Dutch society at the time, from sober reconstruction towards consumerist exuberance, and from broad social ideals to individualist mass consumption. It is often assumed that Maaskant was a modernist as he embraced rationalist and functionalist strategies driven by technological development. The ghost of modernism is most apparent in Groothandelsgebouw in its concrete frame, which adheres to a strict grid that permeates throughout the building, allowing for the provision of large, open plan spaces at all levels. Furthermore, the entire building is oriented around an extensive road network on multiple levels, which at times punctures through 68