Every design for Rotterdam

Rotterdam takes its name from a dam built across the little river Rotte in 1270, at the spot where the Hoogstraat runs today. The stream's old name meant muddy water, which suits a city that has always made something out of whatever it was handed. When German bombing destroyed almost all of the centre in the Second World War, Rotterdam rebuilt itself as a laboratory for modern architecture, with towers by Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom and Ben van Berkel.

The city lies on the Nieuwe Maas, where the delta of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt opens towards the North Sea. That position made it Europe's largest seaport and earned it the nickname Gateway to Europe. It is a working city through and through, home to people of over 180 different nationalities, and one that has never confused polish with pride.

Ask someone who grew up here about the Euromast, De Hef or the Kubuswoningen and you will hear more than a description of a building. You will hear what the city survived and what it chose to become. Carry its streets and quays with you, and you are carrying that answer too.