Rotterdam?the original "tabula rasa" city?will soon become host to a giant staircase, ascending 180 steps from Stationsplein (outside Rotterdam Central Station?s iconic entrance) to the top of the world-renowned Groot Handelsgebouw building. According to MVRDV, the structure will "follow in the city's tradition of celebrating reconstruction milestones" and, as such, the scaffolding system used to construct the staircase will be "a nod" to the 75th anniversary of the rebuilding of the city following World War II.

The Staircase on Stationsplein, Rotterdam. Image © Frank van Dam/MVRDV

Rotterdam?the original "tabula rasa" city?will soon become host to a giant staircase, ascending 180 steps from Stationsplein (outside Rotterdam Central Station?s iconic entrance) to the top of the world-renowned Groot Handelsgebouw building. According to MVRDV, the structure will "follow in the city's tradition of celebrating reconstruction milestones" and, as such, the scaffolding system used to construct the staircase will be "a nod" to the 75th anniversary of the rebuilding of the city following World War II.The giant infrastructural folly has been designed to respond to the angles of the existing station, "connecting the contemporary icon with a historic monument" whilst?through its construction?referencing the seemingly perpetual urban reconstruction that the city has, and continues to, experie...