Groothandelsgebouw

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Groothandelsgebouw in central Rotterdam, completed in 1953, stands as one of the first major buildings reconstructed after the city's bombing in World War II. Designed by architects Hugh Maaskant and Willem van Tijen, the wholesale office building was conceived by wholesaler Frits Pot, who envisioned a single large structure to consolidate scattered business operations. Following a 1947 study trip to Chicago, the architects modeled the building on the Merchandise Mart, creating an innovative complex that included not only extensive office space but also a grand café-restaurant and conference facilities. The structure is defined by its distinctive brutalist aesthetic and innovative use of schokbeton (shock concrete), featuring a consistent grid of octagonal concrete columns spaced 6.72 meters apart that support the entire building. With five marked entrances and a carefully planned internal circulation route, the Groothandelsgebouw became emblematic of Rotterdam's postwar urban vision and is now a protected Rijksmonument.