FENIX Museum of Migration | MAD architects

FENIX, a major new museum inspired by stories of global migration, will open on a landmark site in Rotterdam’s City Harbour in 2025.

The 16,000 sqm building, dating from 1923, was once part of the largest warehouse in the world. Located on the south bank of the River Maas in Rotterdam’s historic port district, the warehouse served as an important building for storage and shipping for the Holland-America Line - a Dutch cargo and passenger line. The Holland-America Line facilitated the journeys of millions of migrants in the 19th and 20th centuries who arrived and departed from the surrounding docks.

The building is being transformed in a radical design by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the internationally acclaimed Beijing-based architecture practice. Visitors will immediately see its architectural masterpiece, the Tornado, an organic, dynamic structure evocative of rising air that climbs from the ground floor and flows up and out of the rooftop onto a platform hovering above the city – an uplifting symbol for the journeys experienced by migrants globally. Climbing the stairs of the Tornado will offer an exhilarating new perspective on the city of Rotterdam, with dramatic views across the River Maas and of Hotel New York, the former headquarters of the Holland-America Line.

The building has been restored with consultation by Bureau Polderman.

FENIX explores the timeless story of human migration in a changing world through a series of encounters with art, architecture, photography, and history, setting out to redefine the role of a museum for the next generation.

Inside the building will be a series of vast gallery spaces over two floors, housing the museum’s growing art and historical collection as well as a series of commissions by emerging artists from across the world, telling stories of migration from their perspective. These include Paris-based Beya Gille Gacha; the Rotterdam-based artist Efrat Zehavi; Korean artist Chae Eun Rhee; artist Raquel Van Haver and US based Hugo McCloud.

Over 200 acquisitions have already been made which examine the theme of migration through the lens of contemporary art, including Bill Viola’s Ancestors and work by contemporary artists such asFrancis Alÿs, Steve McQueen, Grayson Perry, Rineke Dijkstra, Kimsooja, Shilpa Gupta, Jeremy Deller and Danh Võ.

The ground floor will house three keynote projects: 

The Maze is a monumental installation made up of 2,000 suitcases donated by individuals from the country’s many communities and the world - a labyrinth-like, immersive installation in which visitors can discover the stories of their previous owners.
 

Inspired by Edward Steichen’s Family of Man, one of the most famous photographic exhibitions of all time, an installation entitled Family of Migrants will occupy another of the huge ground floor galleries, made up of hundreds of documentary images and portraits touching on the themes raised by human movement, family love, the danger of the voyage, and saying goodbye. Among them will be iconic images by over 200 photographers from over 60 countries, including Dorothea Lange, Lewis Hine, Wang Fuchun, Ara Güler and Sam Presser.
 

Plein, the 2,275 sqm third ground floor space, will represent a radical new approach to the curatorial role of the museum. This vast, flexible space for events and performances will host a constantly changing programme of activity curated by Rotterdam’s communities. Every day and every hour in Plein will be different. For example, at Chinese New Year Plein will celebrate the food and culture of a community who created Europe’s first Chinatown in FENIX’s neighbourhood in 1900.

FENIX Museum of Migration
Rotterdam, Netherlands
2018 - 2025

Typology: Museum, Renovation
Site Area: 13,200 sqm
Ramp Area: 1,050 sqm
Height: 28.3 m

Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partner in Charge: Andrea D’Antrassi
Team: Neeraj Mahajan, Marco Gastoldi, Edgar Navarrete, Cievanard Nattabowonphal, Jordan Demer, Chen Yien, Yuki Ishigami, Pittayapa Suriyapee, Claudia Hertrich, Alessandro Fisalli

Client: Droom en Daad Foundation
Executive Architect: EGM
Monumental Architecture Renovation: Bureau Polderman
Construction Advisor: IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs
Steel Constructor: CSM Steelstructures
Cladding Constructor: Central Industry Group (CIG)
Lighting Consultant: Beersnielsen lichtontwerpers
Installation Design: Bosman Bedrijven
Installation Advisor: DWA
Building Physics Advisor: LBP Sight