New photographs have been released showing construction progress at POST Rotterdam, documenting the restoration and reinvention of a historic post office in the Dutch city. Designed by ODA with Omnam Group, the project sees the 100-year-old building transformed into a hotel, with accompanying retail, restaurants, two public plazas, and a 155-meter (500-foot) tall residential tower.

Among the architectural features showcased in the new images are the Great Hall, a 22.5-meter (75-foot) high vaulted room dating from 1916. Working with Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau, the team has preserved and restored the space, whose ultimate role will be to serve as the project’s “public heart.” To make the hall more accessible, a new entrance is being added via a piazza-style courtyard from a former service entrance.

At street level, the building will be lined with retail, galleries, and restaurants, concentrated around the Great Hall and the new courtyard. The upper floors, which once housed the post office’s telegraph and telephone services, will become a five-star hotel.

In addition to the conservation and restoration work, the new 155-meter (500-foot) residential tower will rise towards the rear of the post office, linking to an existing open courtyard. The vaulted plinth of the tower will flow towards the courtyard, while the façade will be defined by a 5-meter (16-foot) stone grid reflecting the rhythm of the historic post office’s façade.

Construction on the project began in October 2021. Progress to-date has seen the removal of the building’s east façade and excavation work to create a public plaza from an old loading dock once used by mail trucks. Meanwhile, drilling of the site’s foundations to support new construction began in March 2022, while construction of the new high-rise tower is expected to begin in 2023. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025.

News of the scheme comes soon after MVRDV revealed plans for an event space on top of Rotterdam’s Het Nieuwe Instituut, which seeks to demonstrate the role of rooftops in urban design. The Dutch city was also the subject of debate among our community in February, when it was revealed that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was having a bridge in the city dismantled to make way for his superyacht.

Meanwhile, in addition to their project in Rotterdam, ODA has been active in the United States, having recently revealed designs for a multi-volume tower in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last year, the firm also proposed a zoning regulation to expand public space in New York City, titled Beyond the Street.