KPN Telecom Building 
Wilhelminakade 123 
Rotterdam 
The Netherlands

Renzo Piano Building Workshop 2000 

The building is designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop for KPN Telecom. It is used as the headquarters office building for the corporation.

The building is located at the end of the Erasmus Bridge, which is an icon for the city of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is continuing to be revitalized with new buildings after being flattened by WWII bombing. This revitalization includes the KPN Telecom Building.

It is a relatively tall tower in the Netherlands since most of the country does not have high rises. The building looks as if it is divided into three vertical sections. One section faces the rest of the pier while another faces the city, sandwiching a skinny section in the middle. The one facing the rest of the pier is very simple in design, having a rectangular façade with window openings evenly distributed.

The middle section is terra-cotta in color. It has a slit of glass running on its sides making this section look like a division in the middle of the tower.

The section that faces the city and the Erasmus Bridge is the most interesting portion of the building. The façade of this side is tilted and has a slanted pillar from the ground going into the center of the façade. The façade is clad with a green curtain wall system that is complemented by green lights distributed evenly over the glass façade. The lights work as a giant billboard and the patterns they create are easiest to see at night time or on an overcast day. These patterns change and move throughout the day.

Wilma Kwan 2003

How to visit

The building is located right next to the end of the Erasmus Bridge (designed by Van Berkel & Bos Architecten) on the Kop van Zuid side. The closest Metro stop to the building is Wilhelminaplein. From the Metro stop you can walk towards Posthuma Laan and you will see the KPN Telecom Building.

From Centraal station if you bike, it will take roughly half an hour. Take Wester Singel south all the way down to Vasteland. Make a left onto Vasteland and then you will see the Erasmus Bridge on your right. Get on the bridge and once you get to the other end of the bridge you will see the KPN Telecom Building on the right.

For more information about the building please visit www.renzopiano.com and for more information about KPN Telecom and the building's accessibility, please visit www.kpn.com.