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Mei architects and planners www.mei-arch.eu

World’s fanciest McDonald’s

By 06-06-2016

McDonald’s invited Mei architects and planners to design a new pavilion on this spot with a character in keeping with the (renewed) Coolsingel and the rich historical surroundings. After a very fast construction time of two months a spectaculair new pavilion now shines in the heart of Rotterdam.

The new building volume has been carefully detailed and articulated by Mei to open up views of the monumental post office behind it. As a result, the pavilion has the most compact possible core, with glazed façades all around. A fully transparent lobby, with entrances on three sides, makes it seem as though the public space flows through the building.

As McDonald’s is open day and night (24/7), its appearance after dark is important. By day the building is inviting to shoppers, while in the evening it glows to attract the nightlife crowd. The gold anodized aluminum skin of brass is perforated with heart-shaped openings to form a ‘veil’ around the glazed building through which illumination shines. With the application of various degrees of perforation, the brass façade depicts a crowd of people on Coolsingel. After all, the new McDonald’s is built for the people of Rotterdam, who now have yet another reason to be proud of their city.

Nominated BNA Best Building of the Year 2016

Photos: Jeroen Musch