Photograph of Model of Central Hall, design by H. Evers, 1915. Collection: Gemeentearchief Rotterdam.

In 1912, the Municipality of Rotterdam announced a competition to design a new City Hall on Coolsingel. The models which were entered for the competition remained for decades in the City Hall's attic. Some models, notably those made by the winning designer Henri Evers, were splendidly detailed objects executed in plaster of Paris. The models have much to tell us about the practice of architectural design in the early years of the last century, and about Rotterdam's ambition to achieve world prominence. This distinctive set of models has recently become part of the NAI Collection.

The Rotterdam City Hall Models web exhibition offers some background to the competition and the designs that were entered, together with a report on the progress of restoration work.


Transfer to the NAI
The Municipality of Rotterdam officially handed this distinctive set of models over to the NAI on January 13, 2006. Three of them were presentation models submitted as entries to the competition, while the remaining sixteen were models of the executed design by Henri Evers, made in 1915. The dirt-encrusted, dilapidated models are now to be restored for inclusion in the NAI Collection where they will become available for public viewing.

Henri Evers
The design by Henri Evers (1855-1929) is one of the most distinctive Dutch examples of an imposing public architecture based on the French Beaux-Arts system. Incorporating many references to diverse historic architectural styles, it also marks the high point of eclectic architecture in the Netherlands.

Plaster Models
A set of authentic plaster models of the Rotterdam City Hall has survived, having been stored until recently in the attic of the City Hall itself. The models are not only monumental in size and character but also executed in exquisite detail, with architectural details such as ornaments, cornices and moldings clearly visible. These models form a collection that is unique in the Netherlands. Hundreds of plaster architectural models were made in the period from 1900 to 1920, but few of them have survived to this day.

_{> Left: Photograph of Model of Central Hall, to Design by H. Evers, 1915. > Right: Photograph of Exhibition of Plaster Sculpture and Architectural Models in the Attic of the City Hall, 1920-1925. Collection: Gemeentearchief Rotterdam.}

An Exhibition in the Attic
In 1920, the Municipality of Rotterdam set up an exhibition in the attic of the City Hall of all the plaster sculptures and architectural models that had been made for the competition and for the winning design. This was not unusual at the time; models of architecture and works of art were not infrequently displayed in the attics of city halls, where art school students could sketch them.

The NAI acquired the city hall models from the Municipality of Rotterdam in autumn 2005 for inclusion in the NAI Collection. Although the attic is strongly bound up with the history of the models, it was necessary to find a new home for them. The models were so heavily damaged that considerable restoration work was needed to preserve them for the future. They have therefore been transferred form the City Hall attic to the Open Model Storage facility of the NAI, where the restoration project is under way.


^{The Models in the City Hall Attic, 2005. Photograph: NAI/H. Kooyker.}

Webpresentation: restoration and historical background
The restoration project is a substantial, labor-intensive task. Before restoration work can begin, research is needed on technical aspects of the materials and on the architecture-historical background of the models. This presentation on the web will report the outcomes of that research and the methods and progress of the restoration. You can see photographs of the models being cleaned, packed, and transported from the attic of the city hall to the NAI Open Model Storage - a precarious undertaking considering the size and weight of the models, let alone their fragile condition.

The site also provides historical background to the City Hall competition and design. The competition to design the City Hall was a controversial affair that even had repercussions in the Dutch Parliament. People accused the competition procedure of being undemocratic, and Evers' winning design of being too old-fashioned. The presentation includes a choice of the best picture material from various archives, ranging from colorful design and presentation drawings to photographs of the foundation ceremony.

Transfer of the City Hall Models to the NAI

The Municipality of Rotterdam officially transferred the City Hall Models to the Netherlands Architecture Institute on January 13, 2006. The transfer took place in the Open Model Storage of the NAI, where the models are to be restored in the coming months.
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Competition design for Rotterdam City Hall

'A botched-together Renaissance tent'

(J. Gratama, 1915)
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Restoration of the City Hall Models completed

April 2010 | The restoration of the scale models of Rotterdam Town Hall was completed at the beginning of 2010. Models that were heavily soiled and damaged have regained their architectural and historical significance and are now ready for public display.
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Gallery 2: Coolpower

Exhibition 23 may 2009  - 13 september 2009 | It is already almost a century ago that the first discussion was held on the design competition for the City Hall in the Coolsingel, Rotterdam. The current design competition for the new Municipal Office has fanned the flames of this debate again. The Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) is adding depth to this current debate with a historical exhibition on the Rotterdam City Hall design competition of 1912.
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Press Release (23 May 2009) NAi opens Coolpower

Coolpower - competition entries for a new Rotterdam City Hall in the Coolsingel from 1912, offers a historical view of the 1912 competition for designs for the City Hall. The new designs of the current architects in the competition will be exhibited in Coolpower – 5 designs for the new Rotterdam Municipal Office.
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