The City Archive of Rotterdam has 3.5 kilometers of paper construction files that are being digitized. To ensure better information provision, Rotterdammers, project developers and other interested parties will soon be able to view the building files with construction drawings of the municipality of Rotterdam for the period 1948-2010 digitally rather than by appointment.
The project is being carried out by employees of Rotterdam Inclusief and will be completed in 2029. This fall, the first building files can already be consulted via the website of the municipality.
Alderman Chantal Zeegers (Climate, Construction and Housing): “Fantastic that this project is starting now. It fits in with our efforts to provide better services. The new service makes it easier for both Rotterdammers who want to build or renovate their homes and builders who want to build and renovate houses. They will soon be able to directly view a construction file completely digitally.”
The construction files contain all the documents associated with an application for a building permit, such as for building an apartment building or installing a dormer. The files contain the application, the authorization, drawings and calculations. When filing a building permit, the applicant often needs original construction drawings. In the future, these drawings will be readily available online.
Stadsarchief Rotterdam manages 3.5 km (that's about 28,000 archive boxes) of paper construction files covering the periods 1852-1903 and 1940-2010. The 1904-1940 period was lost in the bombing. The 1852-1904 and 1940-1947 sections have already been digitized and are available through the City Archives website. After 2010, the files are only available in digital form; they can be requested from the Building and Housing Department.
On the website of the Stadsarchief Rotterdam you can search by street name and house number. For privacy reasons, you cannot search by the name of the occupant or permit applicant. Files of special buildings such as a bank or a prison are not available for inspection. Other rules apply to these.
More information can be found on stadsarchief.rotterdam.nl
