King Kong Hostel
On the bustling Witte de Withstreet, in the heart of the cultural district of Rotterdam, the renovationproject ‘A Block Reborn’ is situated. For more then a decade these six delapidated buildings from 1874 were waiting for a new future. The renovation has uplifted the appearance of the entire Witte de Withstreet. The design has been made by ScheurwatervandenHoven and Antonia Reif Architecture.
The block has a diverse programmatic infill. The famous bar ‘The White Monkey’ has been extended with the shop next door, two buildings have been turned into 8 short-stay appartments and the ground floor of these buildings has been turned into the café restaurant ‘Ter Marsch & Co’. But the most prominent devellopment within the project is the ‘King Kong Hostel’. Four of the six buildings have been connected to become a hostel with more then 150 beds.
The open lobby on the ground floor, with several freely accessible spaces, serves as the living room of the street. This public interior is the place where guests can relax from their long journey, enjoy their hot meal or meet inhabitants of Rotterdam who can enter as well. On the first and second floor hostelrooms for 2 to 8 persons are situated. For the decoration of these rooms collaborations with lokal artist and furniture designers have been set-up. The roofs of the four buildings have been connected and turned into a big spacious dormitory. With mezzanines and build-in high sleepers it has beds in unexpected places and corners offering grand views over the skyline of Rotterdam.
