Het Nieuwe Instituut proudly presents the initiative for Het Podium: an impressive platform on the roof of the institute. The striking pink installation with imposing outdoor staircase was designed by architects MVRDV and is an extension of the exhibition MVRDVHNI: The Living Archive of a Studio. Het Podium will be open from 1 June to 17 August and offers a unique opportunity to experience architecture, the city, Museumpark and the institute from an entirely new perspective. Never before has the roof of the institute been accessible to visitors.

 

With Het Podium, Het Nieuwe Instituut is giving partners and makers from Rotterdam, the Netherlands and beyond the opportunity to temporarily add their own programming to the roof. The first major event to be organized at the institute is Rotterdam Architecture Month: an initiative of AIR (Architecture Institute Rotterdam), Rotterdam Festivals and Rotterdam Partners. Het Podium is at the centre of this edition. 

 

The city podium will soon not only have a cultural or architectural character: it will also be open to activities and sectors of a completely different nature. From sports classes to rooftop dinners and special children's activities. More information about the exact programme and the other cooperation partners will be announced later.

 

 

The colourful city podium will soon be 29 metres high and accessible via a 143-step outdoor staircase, a lift and via the exhibition MVRDVHNI: The Living Archive of a Studio on the sixth floor of the institute. In this presentation, the early works of architect firm MVRDV are opened up interactively. Het Podium symbolizes both MVRDV's ambition to condense the city and make better use of roofs and the ambition of Het Nieuwe Instituut to increase knowledge about architecture.

 

The first user of Het Podium at Het Nieuwe Instituut is the Rotterdam Architecture Month. For the duration of the event, the platform at the institute will be the heart of the festival and will host lectures, tours, films and other activities on architecture throughout the month of June. The main exhibition of the Rotterdam Architecture Month will also be housed in one of the presentation rooms of Het Nieuwe Instituut. Another part of the festival's multifaceted programming is The World Around: a leading conference in the field of contemporary architecture and design. Together with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Het Nieuwe Instituut is hosting this international event and on 11 June a conference will be held at Het Podium and in the institute.

 

Het Podium at Het Nieuwe Instituut can be seen as a logical continuation of previous impressive scaffolding installations designed by MVRDV in the past. In 2017, for instance, the firm already placed a gigantic staircase on Rotterdam's Stationsplein in the context of 75 years of the city's reconstruction. With this summer stage on the roof, Het Nieuwe Instituut also joins the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk: an initiative of the Rotterdam Roof Days. This route opens on May 26th and gives access to the roofscape of the inner city for a month. The event aims to let a large audience experience how roof use can contribute to a better future for cities and city dwellers. 

 

 

Het Nieuwe Instituut is the national institute for architecture, design and digital culture. Located in the city of architecture Rotterdam, in the Museumpark, Het Nieuwe Instituut has various exhibition spaces, a museum shop, a museum café, a study room and library, an auditorium, educational spaces and a garden. It houses one of the largest architecture collections in the world. 

 

 

Both Rotterdam Partners, the city's promotional agency, and Rotterdam City Council were keen for CIC to open a branch in Rotterdam. The business climate in various world cities was positively influenced by the arrival of CIC in cities such as Boston and Miami, and Rotterdam saw the American company as a suitable partner. 

 

The total investment money raised in recent years - by start-ups at CIC - is over 600 million. This was mainly financed by venture capital. 1828 full-time jobs were created by the companies in CIC's community. The percentage of international companies - companies that have one or more offices across the border - is about 20%. The sectors It/tech/software, business consulting and service providers are best represented. There are many winners among the companies; in recent years, they have won more than 50 national and international entrepreneurial awards. 

 

Over the past 5 years, CIC Rotterdam has been home to an average of about 250 companies and organizations. About half of the companies are start-ups or scale-ups, the share of small and medium-sized enterprises is on average about 18%, the share of corporate companies is 5% and there are on average about 25 investors. The remainder is occupied by non-profit organizations and freelancers.

 

Together with its non-profit sister organization, Venture Café, CIC brings the Rotterdam community together at weekly events such as the Thursday Gatherings. Here, entrepreneurs exchange knowledge, networks and experience. In recent years, a total of around 50,000 visitors attended the combined events.  

 

"The driving force behind CIC is the community of innovative companies, ranging from start-ups and scale-ups to investors and corporates. Through an inspiring work environment and programming focused on access to talent, funding and the total innovation ecosystem, we want to increase the impact of our community. By working closely with partners from across the innovation ecosystem, we will make a positive contribution to the business climate in Rotterdam," says Joyce Kornet-Vreugdenhil.

 

 

The opening of the final CIC DELTA office space marks the end of years of expansion of flexible and hybrid offices in the Groot Handelsgebouw. The total number of square metres of office space now exceeds 10,500m2.

 

 

According to New Fork, the process is easy. Every employee (whether working from home or in an office) can order their own lunch until 9:30 in the morning via the New Fork app. Later on, at noon, they can go grab their lunch at a pick-up point. According to New Fork, all their pickup points are no more than 15 minutes walking distance, from any location in Rotterdam. It's definitely an interesting concept, as businesses can provide their hybrid-work employees with a paid-for canteen lunch experience; a perk that many have gone without while working from home. 

 

 Yorick van Baarsel of New Fork states: "In this way, home workers feel involved in the office and eat a quality healthy lunch like at the office. We call this smart catering. There is also the choice of where the lunches are to be delivered: the office or the New Fork pick-up point. We expect smart catering to be the future, which is why we are experimenting with this type of concept, because if you don't dare, you don't win."

 

The hospitality industry in general has had a rough ride in recent years. But entrepreneurship, according to Yorick, is not about "throwing in the towel and giving up in difficult times. We think that hybrid work will continue and that is why we are rolling out this proposition in Rotterdam, because you can learn from experimentation. If it proves to be a success, the rest of the Netherlands is at our feet."

 

 

The Picnic food forest will offer space for meeting, education and participation in the field of nature and food. The forest will be a natural ecosystem, but focused on the production of food. In the coming period, a combination of nut trees, fruit bushes and other edible plants will be planted, with education for colleagues, customers, children and suppliers as a starting point. In addition, increasing biodiversity is central; small mammals, birds and insects find their home in the forest.

 

The online supermarket's food forest combines food production, ecological richness and a high experiential value. When sufficient experience is gained, the initiative can be expanded. Michiel Muller, co-founder of Picnic: "We are the modern milkman who delivers sustainably. We are also trying to make the food supply itself more sustainable by shortening the path from farmer to plate. A food forest gives new inspiration and is in line with the whole Picnic team's commitment to sustainable business."

 

Planting and maintenance will be done by Picnic employees for the next six years.