Fenix I | Mei architects

loft apartments on top of a warehouse

In the summer of 2013 Mei won the architect selection procedure for the design of the new volume and the redevelopment of the warehouse. A mixed programme of housing, workspaces, car park and leisure is planned for the older lower levels. On top of this Mei designed about 200 loft apartments whose occupants can arrange the interiors as they wish. The apartments can be divided both horizontally and vertically, a unique concept in the Netherlands.

The Fenix warehouses, located opposite Hotel New York and the Rijnhaven Bridge, were built in 1922 in Katendrecht, Rotterdam. Previously called the San Francisco warehouse, the structure has two levels with floor heights of six metres, and was originally 360 metres in length. Construction of the San Francisco warehouse was necessitated by the considerable expansion of the fleet and number of routes of the Holland Amerika Lijn. What was remarkable about the complex, designed by architect C.N. van Goor, was that two railway lines cut through the building. It also featured a number of goods lifts that allowed trucks to load and unload their freight on the first floor.

Parts of the quay were destroyed towards the end of the Second World War. Fire also badly damaged the central section, the area now occupied by Fenix Square. In 1954 the quay was rebuilt and the warehouses rose from the ashes and were renamed Fenix I and Fenix II. However, port activity relocated westwards in the 1980s and the warehouses were abandoned.

However, over the years, Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven has flourished, transforming from a desolate waterfront into a trendy site, a playground for culinary, creative, and cultural ventures. This transformation began in 2007, when the city of Rotterdam started to promote the rehabilitation of the Katendrecht district. With the repurposing of Fenix I, Mei has developed a smart plan that will create a unique and more permanent setting for recreation and creative endeavour inside the existing structure, Fenix Docks, as well as the design for a new volume on top of the warehouse called Fenix Lofts.

Fenix Lofts
In 2009 Heijmans initiated the design and development of the Fenix I warehouse. After studying the surrounding buildings on Rijnhaven, the Rotterdam Department of City Development decided to project a new volume on top of the warehouse with loft apartments.

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