A Fully Integrated Experience
The Port of Rotterdam is a world of its own: innovative, complex, and constantly evolving. With the opening of Portlantis, a new experience centre on the Tweede Maasvlakte, visitors gain a unique perspective on this dynamic environment and the challenges that lie ahead.
Portlantis is more than an exhibition. It is a gesamtkunstwerk. Kossmanndejong designed the exhibitions as a fully integrated experience, where architecture, interior, and content merge into one. In close collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam (client), MVRDV (architecture), and Piet Harm Sterk (art direction), content developers, spatial designers, graphic designers, light and sound specialists, interaction designers, filmmakers, and builders joined forces from the start to create a unified and layered experience.
The building itself consists of five identical volumes, stacked and rotated as if casually placed like shipping containers. Expansive panoramic windows on each floor offer breathtaking views of the North Sea, the coastline, and the port, making the real environment an integral part of the exhibition. At the heart of the building is the 22 metre high atrium. A kinetic installation and an interactive port model make the port’s energy tangible and can be seen and felt from every level.
Immersive and Engaging for All Audiences
The exhibition is spread across three floors, each with its own theme:- TODAY – the port as it is now
- IMPACT – its significance in the world
- TOMORROW – the future of the port
There is no fixed route. Visitors are free to explore in their own way, engaging with interactive installations and layered information. The experience is designed to work at multiple levels, from casual visitors to professionals. Schoolchildren, students, policymakers, tourists, and port experts can all find their own path through the content.
The layered design approach makes it possible to offer different levels of knowledge and entry points. The exhibition is intuitive and visual, with no need for prior knowledge, but offers depth and detail for those who seek it. It encourages exploration and invites reflection.
Ossip van Duivenbode
Design Choices that Bring the Port to Life
Design choices were made to translate abstract systems into physical, sensory experiences. Interactives are playful and tactile. Films and animations are seamlessly integrated into sculptural surfaces. Scenographic elements reference the structures and logic of the port, without being literal.
The central atrium connects all floors and themes. From the kinetic installation to the evolving light and soundscapes, the port’s energy pulses through the building. The red external staircase winds around the structure, leading to a freely accessible panoramic deck. Here, visitors take in sweeping views of the real working port, deepening the connection between content and context.
Ossip van Duivenbode
A Place to Learn, Experience, and Connect
Portlantis is more than a visitor centre. It is a place where knowledge is shared and connections are made. The top floor houses a spacious restaurant, open day and night, where visitors of all kinds meet. The centre fosters exchange between generations and disciplines—between schoolchildren and engineers, local communities and international guests, policymakers and the public.
Now more than ever, as the port navigates the energy transition and major geopolitical changes, Portlantis offers a place where the past, present, and future of the port come together. It is a space for dialogue, learning, and imagination.
Portlantis brings the scale and complexity of Europe’s largest port to a human level. Through integrated design, storytelling, and architecture, it creates an experience that is immersive, layered, and unforgettable.
Partners
- Client: Havenbedrijf Rotterdam N.V.
- Creative management: Piet-Harm Sterk (BIND), Eileen Niks (Havenbedrijf Rotterdam)
- Construction: Bruns
- Light design: HeinzLoopstra Lightdesign
- Content development: Havenbedrijf Rotterdam, Imke Asmussen (Metimke)
- Interactives and app: Shosho, IJsfontein, YIPP, VSTEP, Mevea, Siemens, Harborn
- Films and animations: VideoAgency, MCW, BIND, Orfixmedia, Rens Wegerif
- AV hardware advisor: SemMika
- AV-media, installation and programming: AtaTech
- Sound design: Danny Weijermans
- Architect: MVRDV
