Reminders of the past

The Holland America Line moved from Rotterdam to Seattle in 1983. And Bostons is one of their destinations. Now we have the Boston and Seattle towers in Rotterdam. The names Seattle and Boston hint to names of former warehouses on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam.

boston seattle towers rotterdam kop van zuid achitecture

Together the towers have 220 appartments while they each are 70 meters and 23 floors high. There is 1500 m2 available for shops, restaurants and cultural events in the plinth. Also with private parking space for the residents. Altogether the plinth has 5 floors with on top a roof garden with a layer sedum, moss and herbs. Underneath the complex lays a two floors public parking garage.

Mostly natural looking materials cover the exterior of both towers. Such as natural stone, sand-colored bricks and bronze-color window frames. The architects of the Boston & Seattle towers in Rotterdam are Frits van Dongen and Patrick Koschuch.

Another interesting detail is the plinth’s outside decoration. More than 2000 bronze colored slats in 200 window frames decorate the several floors. In order to hide the vehicles in the parking while providing daylight and air. Moreover a closer look at the plinth shows the image of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Also the ship Halve Maen which polar researcher Henri Hudson discovered Manhattan with in 1609. This reflects on the history of Rotterdam with New York and the famous Holland-Amerika Line.

On the side of the Luxor theater is the Boston tower and next to the New Orleans stands the Seattle tower. All at the Wilhelminapier in the Kop van Zuid are. Here is the location!