AIR Offices
Department Store Transformation to Offices
The AIR Offices is a sustainable adaptive reuse project in the heart of Rotterdam, transforming a former department store into a dynamic mixed-use office hub focused on wellbeing, heritage, and circular design. Designed by WOMO Architects, the project reimagines the building as a future-ready workplace while preserving its architectural legacy and strengthening its role within the city center.
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AIR Offices – A Landmark of Sustainable Urban Transformation
Located in the heart of Rotterdam, the AIR Offices by WOMO Architects is a transformative adaptive reuse project that redefines a former department store into a vibrant, sustainable mixed-use hub. This redevelopment breathes new life into the Beurstraverse district, preserving architectural heritage while creating a future-focused workplace environment that prioritises wellbeing, flexibility, and environmental performance.
Originally constructed in the 1950s as Beursgallery, the building is deeply embedded in Rotterdam’s urban fabric. The project retains much of the existing structure, including its original floor plates and natural stone façade, significantly reducing construction waste and preserving approximately 27,000 cubic tons of embodied carbon. This approach positions AIR Offices as a leading example of circular and sustainable architecture in the Netherlands.
The design carefully balances heritage with innovation. The historic “Rotterdam layer” is maintained, while two new setback office floors introduce terraces and biophilic planting, offering outdoor workspaces and enhancing the building’s identity. At street level, retail, hospitality, and public amenities—including restaurants, cafés, and extensive bicycle parking—activate the urban environment and strengthen connections to the surrounding city.
At the core of the building, a dramatic architectural intervention transforms the interior: a donut-shaped atrium carved through the deep floor plates introduces natural daylight and creates a central social hub. This multi-level space is defined by walkways, flexible workspaces, and shared amenities, while a large skylight and vertical green wall bring light and nature deep into the building.
Sustainability and wellbeing are integral to the project. AIR Offices achieves BREEAM Excellent, WELL Gold, and WiredScore Gold certifications, supported by passive design strategies, high-performance façades, and biodiversity enhancements developed with local ecologists. The integration of BIM throughout the design and construction process ensured precision, efficiency, and reduced environmental impact.
Material choices—including corten steel, timber, and natural finishes—reference Rotterdam’s industrial and maritime heritage while creating a warm, human-centred workspace. The flexible layout, combined with prominent staircases and diverse work settings, supports a wide range of working styles and promotes movement, collaboration, and long-term adaptability.
AIR Offices stands as a model for sustainable urban transformation—where heritage, innovation, and circular design converge to shape the future of work in Rotterdam.
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Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Project Size: 39,500 m² / 425,174 ft²
Status: Completed 2025
Client: TPG Angelo Gordon | NEOO | Schroders Capital
Themes: Adaptive Reuse | Retail | Offices
Consultants: Techniplan Adviseurs | Drietech & Verhoef Ingenieursbureau B.V. | LBP|SIGHT | Van Rossum Raadgevende Ingenieurs B.V. | BIM&BEYOND | MOSS | D/DOCK | Renders by Negativ | Photography © Ossip van Duivenbode
70 year History of the V& D / Hudson’s Bay Department Store
Final transformation of a single-use, closed department store into a mixed use building
Transformation from Inside Out
BEFORE - Plan of the Department Store prior to Transformation
AFTER - Transformation to AIR Offices
By giving the building a second life, the equivalent of 27,000 cubic tons of carbon associated with new construction is saved from being released into the atmosphere. The understanding of this whole life carbon approach is visualized here as an area spanning a 300-meter radius, stacked 160 meters high, covering a substantial part of central Rotterdam.
