In Pictures - Roterdam Markthal

buzzbeergeek (73)in #travel • 5 years ago (edited)

Your tourist guide will tell you there is no strict city centre in R’dam, but this is as close as it gets. Eclecticism of this market hall and the 15th century church, one across the other, just draws people in.

You can see how much they value space there by them incorporating residential areas with service buildings. The market is a living area and office building with a market hall.

The structure was opened in 2014, by their Queen Máxima. So it’s relatively new. They say it has 228 flats and capacity for more than 1200 cars in the parking below.

It’s an architectural feat in line with our contemporary productive society which tries to get closer to nature.It looks like a tunnel a bit, or a big protective roof.

It’s made of glass panels in different sizes. Good thing they don’t get earthquakes there. The most of the heavy work is done by the steel cables which keep everything together. That make-up makes it the biggest glass-window cable edifice in Europe.

Inside, above, on the ceiling, a piece of art. Huge 11.000 m2 paintwork by Arno & Iris Coenen, called Hoorn des Overvloeds (Horn of Plenty). If you weren’t hungry before, maybe these images get you to buy something tasty, or lekker in local.

However, its grandeur makes it a hub for visiting tourists so the prices tend to be adjusted. For better bargains go to the market in front of it on tuesdays and sundays. The best deals are made there and it’s what a local would do instead.