After World War II, Schouwburgplein was intended to be Rotterdam’s main square. Close to the railway station and the popular Lijnbaan shopping precinct, and surrounded by prominent cultural buildings. A feature of the square is the diversity of users. Visitors to the Doelen concert hall, Theatre Rotterdam and Pathé cinema, as well as shoppers, youths, skaters and tourists, all converge on and around the square. At the same time, the square remains problematic for many Rotterdammers. ‘Every alderman for spatial planning must at some point have tried to solve the Schouwburgplein problem,’ commented alderman Joop Linthorst dryly in 1990. 

Schouwburgplein has had an eventful history. Discover the various designs made over the years. From the car park in 1966 to the first design in 1969 by B. Fokkinga, director of urban development, for a hard-surface expanse with café pavilions, a roofed structure and shallow pools. Residents made good use of it, but the emptiness of the gigantic square continued to draw criticism. 

During the C’70 festival, artists were also invited to make proposals to ‘cultivate’ the space. In 1976, various newspapers invited Rotterdammers to voice their opinion. ‘This square is not yet finished. Can you help?’ 

In 1977, architect Herman Hertzberger suggested building on the entire square to create more inviting spaces. Countless architects tried to come up with a fresh design in the 1970s and 1980s—without success. The municipality and big companies such as Heineken held competitions and commissioned studies to redevelop the square. In 1985, the architecture firms Cepezed, DKV and Benthem Crouwel participated in a competition for a ‘winter garden’ to replace the café pavilions. None of the plans are being realised, and the discussions continue until the early 1990s.

After a limited competition, West 8 with landscape architect Adriaan Geuze, came up with the ‘definitive’ design in 1993. The square as the city’s main stage: that’s how Geuze described the proposal. It is an open space with modern gestures, which emphasizes views of the surrounding skyline. The square was well used in the years after its completion. 

The wideranging designs, ideas and proposals reveal that—certainly in Rotterdam—there is no consensus opinion on what makes a good city square. The plan by West 8 marked a turning point in thinking about public space in the city. At the same time, the current design has become a ‘status quo’, now that the next transformation is in the pipeline. In the meantime, much of the square has been covered with artificial grass for many years, an intervention designed to make it more attractive according to the municipality. 

Rotterdam is focusing on the redesign of boulevards, squares and parks with seven new city projects: ‘Much more greenery will be added to the city over the coming years. Green squares, parks and streets where you can walk, exercise or just sit and relax.’ Now that the redevelopment of Schouwburgplein has been paused, there is an opportunity to discuss the future of this Rotterdam city square. Three recently graduated architects offer their views on the square. 

Margot van Bekkum argues that the square has lost its original function as an urban meeting place and seeks to reconnect it with the city — not through permanent additions, but through changing activities and events, inspired by historic Italian squares. Mike van Rheenen replaces the artificial turf with a natural urban landscape of native plants and animals, transforming the parking garage into a planter with water storage as nature moves into the heart of the city. Arianne Fleege addresses the commercialisation of public space through the Pathé cinema: by removing its closed facade, she opens the building back up to all city residents, creating new connections between the cinema, the square and the city at large.