Type of route Walking route (no bicycle required)
Rooftops Heilige Boontjes (Eendrachtsplein 3), Hofplein 19 (Hofplein 19) and the Kruisplein residential building (at Kruisplein around number 71)
Starting point Heilige Boontjes, Hofplein 19 or the Kruisplein residential building
Make sure to be on time at the various locations of the programme. Check your ticket for the times and locations.
About the programme
This programme will take you right through Rotterdam’s original Stadsdriehoek (‘City Triangle’) and you will encounter very diverse projects with a social vision on your route.
Heilige Boontjes is housed in the former police station on Eendrachtsplein. The irony is clear: a work experience place for people who, in the past, might have been imprisoned there. Coffee bar Heilige Boontjes is now a proven concept: for years now, they have offered people with a past a place to self-develop and reintegrate into society. And they do so successfully. During your visit, you will hear the unique story of this building and visit the rooftop, including the exercise yard where detainees used to be allowed to enjoy the view for a while.
The Kruisplein residential building on the corner of Diergaardesingel and Kruisplein was completed in 1985 as the first project by the architectural firm Mecanoo, which later became very reputable. The building is located on the ‘Fire Boundary’ of bombed Rotterdam and represents the transition from the 19th-century Old West district to the modern city centre. It symbolises a bridge between the high-rise and the low-rise buildings around it. On top of it, you can visit the beautiful rooftop terrace.
Hofplein 19 was built in 1960 and was originally the headquarters of Shell. It has recently been completely renovated and now features a rooftop bar with a terrace. From the rooftop, you will have a good view of the Hofplein roundabout and the Coolsingel. Hofplein is currently still a very busy roundabout full of cars as well as the well-known fountain, but if it were up to the municipality, it would be completely transformed into a green oasis for pedestrians and cyclists in the next couple of years.
.