The Karel Doorman, Rotterdam

The existing building serves as a pedestal for a light, transparent volume receding from the volume below and as such giving the impression of floating above it. Two concrete cores with elevators stabilize the new construction. Sleek pillars support the remainder of the volume. The dwellings are spacious and bright and offer from their large balconies a phenomenal view of the city

The height, the lightness, the engineering technology with which everything has been forged together: it is all imbued with the unmistakable Rotterdam quality. The once groundbreaking Lijnbaan complex designed by the architects Broek en Bakema has been given a chance of a second life. This project is a powerful statement about the preservation of postwar urban planning.

Best Building of the year