RDM Droogdok 17 concerns the new accommodation of the Rotterdam Academy
of Architecture, educational facilities for the University of Higher
Education Rotterdam, conference facilities and various office spaces.
RDM Droogdok 17 comprises an integral design for the internal
modification of the existing structure with a new interior. The existing
building was built in 1913 in a formal expressionistic style. The
assignment is to fit in the new programme into the monumental buidling
in a contemporary fashion in which old en new are interwoven. The used
colours en materials, with subtle differences in grades of gloss,
texture and colour, bring unity and recognition of the linked new
spaces. The generic programmes such as educational and office spaces are
executed in pearl white and are stretched between the two specific
public spaces which are executed in chocolat brown: the exhibition hall
and the auditorium. By doing so they form the head and tail of the
design.