Microlab already offers coworking places and office spaces in Eindhoven. This September it will open a second office in the Rotterdam Building on the centrally located Aert van Nesstraat. In addition to workplaces, the location also offers meeting rooms, event spaces, and a members-only sky bar with a restaurant to connect Rotterdammers.
“Simply renting out cubicles is boring. It’s about giving entrepreneurs and their employees inspiration to work more pleasantly and easily,” says Rik Visser, co-owner of Microlab. “We will encourage human interaction with our (current) community of over 230 companies and 900 employees.”
With a total size of 7500m2, it’s possible to give organizations of any size the resources normally reserved for multinationals or government agencies. In addition to coworking spaces, Microlab Rotterdam offers meeting rooms and event spaces. There is room for events that contribute to society like helping people getting work and programs for graduates to start their own business. In Rotterdam, the focus will be on events that reflect the cultural character of the city. There will also be a sky bar and a restaurant, only accessible by the members.
Becoming a member of Microlab
From September onwards, people working in greater Rotterdam are welcome to join the Microlab community. Those interested in membership can schedule a tour through the website rotterdam.microlab.nl.
In this article Rik Visser told about the differences between the location in Eindhoven and the coming Microlab in Rotterdam. In Eindhoven, there are mainly studios and workshops for craftsmen and designers next to offices and workplaces. Visser: ”We are going to realize affordable workplaces in Rotterdam. This building in the heart of the city is not suitable for studios. You can’t get trucks here. So for now, there will be about 700 workplaces, for freelancers, small companies, or departments of larger companies. That will make about 200 companies.”
An architectural icon is reborn
Microlab Rotterdam will occupy the top six of fifteen floors of the Rotterdam Building, located between the Coolsingel and Lijnbaan and next to the James Hotel. Over the next eighteen months, the renovation will take place floor by floor in cooperation with Ballast Nedam Development, the owner of the building.
Rotterdam Building is a 1976 office building of approximately 22,000 square meters and was designed at the time by Kraaijvanger Architects. The firm is also involved in the realisation of the new plans. The building will undergo a sustainable transformation in the near future, enhancing its character, restoring it to its former glory as much as possible, and preparing it for the future. During the renovation, which will extend the entrance and improve the façade, more communal functions will be given to the lower floors. The entire renovation is expected to be completed by mid-2022.
Cover: View from the future Microlab Rotterdam by Alexander Santos Lima (Visuals By Lex)
