{"id":22586,"date":"2026-04-02T14:32:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/bonnes-pratiques\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:45:15","slug":"rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam","status":"publish","type":"bonnes-pratiques","link":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case study<\/span><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>Recycled Island Foundation<\/span><\/a><\/span>, later becoming <\/span>Clean Rivers<\/span><\/a><\/span>, employed the architectural studio <\/span>GlodSmith<\/span><\/a><\/span> <\/span>in 2010 to design floating structures that could provide extra space in the dense centre of Rotterdam. However, their aim was to create said structures with recycled materials. The outcome of this collaboration was the Floating Pavilion, the Floating Farm, and the Floating Park, which were all created with recycled materials. The construction of all floating structures started in 2013 after an invitation by the city of Rotterdam that due to the densely populated area of the city wanted to utilize the 21 hectares of Rijnhaven, a harbour basin of Rotterdam that is considered one of the oldest harbours in the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas river, for the next 30 years in an innovative way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Floating Pavilion<\/span><\/a><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> also known as the <\/span>Etfe Dome<\/span><\/a><\/span>, consists of 3 connected semi-spheres consisting of a 12 metres high light structure and a park\/seating area that is flexible to the movement of the water, all of which were created from recycled and upcycled materials. The pavilion opened to the public in 2010, creating a public space that can host about 150 people at a time. The pavilion was constructed by Recycled Island Foundation and is still floating in a different location of Rotterdam, at the <\/span>RDM<\/span><\/a><\/span>, by the Maker’s district. It is situated there for educational purposes and events and it is owned by the University of Applied Science.<\/span><\/p>\n

The small hexagonal <\/span>Floating park<\/span><\/a><\/span>, by Recycled Island Foundation, was made entirely of <\/span>recycled materials<\/span><\/a><\/span>. It was originally attached to the Floating pavilion but has since been dismantled. The recycled materials were collected from the city’s canals with the help of <\/span>“litter traps”<\/span><\/a><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> which prevent plastic from flowing into the ocean.  These litter traps are considered as a prototype project under the name ‘<\/span>Recycled Island Foundation’<\/span><\/a><\/span> with the goal to materialize 5 out of <\/span>17 global sustainability goals for 2030<\/span><\/a><\/span>; goal 11) sustainable cities and communities, goal 17) partnerships for the 17 global goals, goal 12) responsible consumption and production, goal 13) climate action and goal 14) life below water. The litter traps are now considered the main project of Clean Rivers, creating litter traps that collect floating material in canals and rivers to be recycled.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Floating farm<\/span><\/a><\/span> <\/span>currently houses <\/span>40 milk cows<\/span><\/a><\/span> and the structure is made out of recycled materials as well. The construction of the floating farm began in the summer of 2018 and welcomed the first cows in May 2019. In 2019, during the first year of operation, the floating farm housed only 32 cows. However, this was changed to adapt to the local demand. The initial aim of this structure was to provide healthy food farmed locally, based on a circular economy: 80% of the cows’ food will come from food waste collected in nearby restaurants and cafés or from local breweries and green waste. The structure was designed with the purpose of transparency and educational purposes as visitors of Rotterdam can observe the recycled, lightweight structure and its operational activities. The Floating Farm was constructed by the <\/span>company Beladon<\/span><\/a><\/span> to trial a floating urban farm in one of the Merwehaven dock basins, close to harbour M4H.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of urban amenities on the water, such as floating restaurants, floating cinemas, and houseboats are now permanent fixtures in many port cities. In many cases, these amenities are located on reconverted port sites now dedicated to urban functions, which nevertheless retain a definite maritime air. By increasing the number of anchorage points within the port and allowing them to be mobile again, they will help reconnect the city to its port and breathe new life into the waterfront. But this migration of urban functions onto the water is also an opportunity to preserve sometimes scarce or limited land space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional informations :<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>Recycled Island Foundation<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Clean Rivers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

GlodSmith<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Floating pavilion<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Etfe Dome<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

RDM<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

17 global sustainability goals for 2030<\/span><\/a><\/span> by the UN<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Business Insider article: <\/span>A new ‘floating park’ made out of recycled plastic waste has popped up in the Netherlands<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Designboom<\/span><\/span>: Rotterdam’s floating park is made entirely from recycled plastic waste found in the Mass river<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Upcycled Litter Traps<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Floating Farm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

De Zeen: <\/span><\/span>Floating Farm in Rotterdam is now home to 32 cows<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

BBC article: <\/span>The World’s first floating farm making waves in Rotterdam<\/a><\/p>\n

Oxford Farming Conference, <\/span>Beladon presentation<\/span><\/a><\/span> (video)<\/span><\/p>\n

Recycled Park first 140m2 open!<\/span><\/a><\/span> (video)<\/span><\/p>\n

World’s first floating farm makes a splash in Rotterdam harbor<\/span><\/a><\/span> (video)<\/span><\/p>\n

Euronews: <\/span><\/span>In Rotterdam, the world’s first ‘floating farm’ is helping save agricultural land<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Agnihotri, Arpita, and Saurabh Bhattacharya. Beladon: Agricultural Innovation Through Floating Farms. London: SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals, 2022. <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Habibi, Shahryar. ‘Floating Building Opportunities for Future Sustainable Development and Energy Efficiency Gains’. Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology<\/em> 04, no. 02 (2015).<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Case study The Recycled Island Foundation, later becoming Clean Rivers, employed the architectural studio GlodSmith in 2010 to design floating structures that could provide extra space in the dense centre of Rotterdam. However, their aim was to create said structures with recycled materials. The outcome of this collaboration was the Floating Pavilion, the Floating Farm, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","pays-bp":[10425],"ville-bp":[10616],"organisme-bp":[10617],"engagement-bp":[10412],"aivp_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22586","bonnes-pratiques","type-bonnes-pratiques","status-publish","hentry","pays-bp-pays-bas","ville-bp-rotterdam","organisme-bp-gemeente-rotterdam","engagement-bp-8-interface-ville-port"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Case study The Recycled Island Foundation, later becoming Clean Rivers, employed the architectural studio GlodSmith in 2010 to design floating structures that could provide extra space in the dense centre of Rotterdam. However, their aim was to create said structures with recycled materials. The outcome of this collaboration was the Floating Pavilion, the Floating Farm, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AIVP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-12T11:45:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aivp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Logo_AIVP_Horizontal_avec_Baseline_mz1mvz-6d63ac5d.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T12:32:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-12T11:45:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bonnes pratiques\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/best-practices\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"AIVP\",\"description\":\"Construire les villes portuaires de demain\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Association Internationale Villes et Ports\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"AIVP\",\"alternateName\":\"Construire les villes portuaires de demain\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/group-5.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/group-5.svg\",\"width\":250,\"height\":92,\"caption\":\"AIVP\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aivp.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP","og_description":"Case study The Recycled Island Foundation, later becoming Clean Rivers, employed the architectural studio GlodSmith in 2010 to design floating structures that could provide extra space in the dense centre of Rotterdam. However, their aim was to create said structures with recycled materials. The outcome of this collaboration was the Floating Pavilion, the Floating Farm, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/","og_site_name":"AIVP","article_modified_time":"2026-09-12T11:45:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1366,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Logo_AIVP_Horizontal_avec_Baseline_mz1mvz-6d63ac5d.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/","url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/","name":"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam – AIVP","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-02T12:32:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-12T11:45:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/rotterdam-netherlands-floating-facilities-and-attractions-in-the-port-of-rotterdam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bonnes pratiques","item":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/best-practices\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Rotterdam (Netherlands): Floating facilities and attractions in the port of Rotterdam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/","name":"AIVP","description":"Construire les villes portuaires de demain","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Association Internationale Villes et Ports","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#organization","name":"AIVP","alternateName":"Construire les villes portuaires de demain","url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/group-5.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/group-5.svg","width":250,"height":92,"caption":"AIVP"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bonnes-pratiques\/22586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bonnes-pratiques"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bonnes-pratiques"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pays-bp","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pays-bp?post=22586"},{"taxonomy":"ville-bp","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ville-bp?post=22586"},{"taxonomy":"organisme-bp","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organisme-bp?post=22586"},{"taxonomy":"engagement-bp","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/engagement-bp?post=22586"},{"taxonomy":"aivp_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aivp.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aivp_topic?post=22586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}