As one of the first major structures built during Rotterdam's post-World War II reconstruction efforts, the centrally located Groot Handelsgebouw is a marker of the city's vision for urban development through the end of the 20th century, functioning both as an office complex and monument. Adjacent to the Stationsplein, the square in front of Rotterdam's Central Station where thousands of commuters pass through daily, the Groot Handelsgebouw area is a major hub and vantage point from which to survey the city.

MVRDV's The Stairs, a public staircase installation accessible for one month early this summer, honors all of these elements – providing a public space from which to view the city's development, linger in the square, enjoy the historic Groot Handelsgebouw's rooftop, and refer (through its scaffold-inspired design) to the ongoing construction efforts of post-WWII Rotterdam, the 75-year mark of which is being celebrated this year with the concurrent "Rotterdam celebrates the city!" event.

Prior major cultural and reconstruction events often included a new vantage point to survey the city, including the Euromast and the cable cars on Coolsingel, one of Rotterdam's most prominent streets. While only a temporary pavilion, The Stairs will be impossible to miss given its size – 29 meters tall, 57 meters long, and 180 steps – and its location at such a heavily trafficked site.

You can climb the stairs to the top of the Groot Handelsgebouw and enjoy a (temporary) observation deck, or catch a movie at the historic Kriterion cinema (open also only during the event). MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas, in a press release for The Stairs, said, “I used to see Rotterdam from the Kriterion after the films and it gave an fantastic overview of the city. The roof of the Groot Handelsgebouw, one of the best buildings of the reconstruction of the Netherlands, deserves to be used as a base for the next intensification of Rotterdam. The Stairs suggest that.”

Maas also hopes that The Stairs will help encourage vertical development in Rotterdam's future, and as such, should be there to stay: "The Stairs aim to animate the rooftop and to imagine a second layer in the next step of Rotterdam’s urban planning. A second reconstruction... It would be good to make it a permanent fixture."

The Stairs will be open (for free) from May 16 - June 12, between 10a and 10p.