Hofplein 19

Hofplein 19 (also known as Shell’s office) was the first building to reappear at Hofplein (1946-1950) after the bombing of Rotterdam.

A typical post-war reconstruction story: because of the scarcity, architect C.A. Abspoel had to resort to materials for this office building that were not used in construction before. The result was an aluminium façade. In the 1970s, this ‘curtain wall’ was replaced by blue, reflective glass, which was more in line with the new office buildings of that time. This turned out not to be such a popular adjustment and, after a thorough renovation in 2018, the mirror was once more replaced by transparent glass. In 2017, there was an immense green-and-white flag on the façade – in honour of football club Feyenoord’s national championship.