The Sax Rotterdam housing, Dutch residential units architecture, Holland building images

The Sax housing development in Rotterdam

29 October 2025

Architects: MVRDV

Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Renders: Proloog, MVRDV

The Sax Apartments, The Netherlands

The Sax starts construction: With 916 apartments, MVRDV design makes Rotterdam’s Wilhelminapier the most densely occupied area in the Netherlands

On Tuesday, October 28, the City of Rotterdam, developers BPD and Synchroon, and MVRDV celebrated the start of construction of The Sax. Located on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, The Sax comprises two towers – containing a total of 916 apartments – connected by a gold beam. In the presence of the Dutch Secretary-General of Housing and Spatial Planning Chris Kuijpers and the Rotterdam Alderman for Climate, Building, and Housing Chantal Zeegers, the first sheet pile was driven into the ground to mark the official start of construction.

Rotterdam already has a fine collection of high-rise buildings, with a particular concentration at Wilhelminapier, home to some of the city’s most recognisable skyscrapers. The Sax is a quirky addition to this group, a silver-coloured building comprising two residential towers: the 180-metre, 55-storey “Havana” and 82-metre, 26-storey “Philadelphia”. These are bridged by a golden beam with six floors of residential units and a roof terrace at a height of 100 metres, accessible to all residents of The Sax. The building’s distinctive saxophone-inspired silhouette, along with the façade design that undulates as it approaches the top of the towers, illustrates the jazzy character of Rotterdam. The building blends with its surroundings, and from different angles, light falling on the façade creates a constantly changing effect, enhanced by the interplay of bay windows and undulating balconies.

With 916 apartments – of which 822 are rental properties and 94 are owner-occupied – and a wide variety of housing types, The Sax meets the high demand for affordable new-build housing in the city centre. The Sax is not only the largest residential building on the pier, offering the most units in a relatively small space, it also boasts the most apartments for sale and rent for middle-income Rotterdammers: 458 units, exactly half of the building’s apartments, are in the affordable rental segment.

The Sax aims to be a vertical residential neighbourhood, a community with shared amenities and outdoor spaces. Residents will soon be able to meet each other in several places: from shared living rooms to the communal roof terrace atop the golden beam connecting the two towers, which offers spectacular views of the adjacent Rijnhaven harbour. A transparent plinth rises nine meters high at the corners of the building to bring vibrancy to the base of the towers. While the lower floors leave space for the new trees on Antoine Platekade, further up the façade, the balconies become increasingly deep and incorporate bay windows, allowing residents to enjoy the beautiful views and to step outside their homes to socialise with the neighbours. Starting at the level of the golden beam, the balconies of the taller tower appear to undulate, giving the tower a swinging rhythm and creating a variety of balcony sizes.

“With 916 homes, The Sax represents a significant densification for the city. The Wilhelminapier will be the most densely built-up area in the Netherlands, in addition to its interesting architectural character”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. “Above all, The Sax will be a vibrant and distinctive building that will be a beautiful addition to the pier’s skyline. The varying angles will allow the light to fall differently on the metal facade, so the building will change colour with the time of day. The gradual transition from bottom to top makes The Sax, despite its size, both robust and soft – just as a musician can both shred on the saxophone as well as playing it subtly and softly.”

The Sax housing development in Rotterdam, Holland – Building Information

Architect: MVRDV – https://www.mvrdv.com/

Project Name: The Sax
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Year: 2017 – construction 2025 until 2030
Client: BPD | Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling & Synchroon
Size and Programme: 96.350 sqm 916 residential units, parking, commercial
Height: Havana – 180 metres, 55 stories, Philadelphia – 82 metres, 26 stories – Beam

Founding partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs
Partner: Frans de Witte
Design team: Fedor Bron, Mick van Gemert, Mark van den Ouden, Anouk Wilmering, Fouad
Addou, Matteo Gramellini, Andrea Manente, Teodora Cirjan, Sandra Jasionyte, Nicolás
Garín Odriozola, Karolina Szostkiewicz, Daniele Zonta, Giuseppe Campo Antico, Ronald
Kam, Clementine Bory, Yassin Matni, Saskia Kok, Marjolein Marijnissen, Peter Mensinga, ,
Luca Moscelli, Sandra Baggerman, Ievgeniia Koval, Beril Maria Kubin, Oleksii Ananiev, Jon
Vedsted Jørgensen, Annalot Brockhoff, Pavel Basmanov, Alberto Canton, Diego López, Iker
Perez, Teresa Malchiodi Albedi, Meng Chen, Anna Bern, Laura Lopez Iglesias, LauraFlorentina Minca, Lesia Topolnyk, Rokas Stasiulis, Aneta Rymsza
MVRDV NEXT: Leo Stuckardt, Boudewijn Thomas
Visualisation: Antonio Coco, Kirill Emelianov, Pavlos Ventouris, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La
Martina, Jaroslaw Jeda, Lorenzo D’Alessandro, Ciprian Buzdugan, Davide Calabro,
Massimiliano Marzoli, Constanza Cuccato, Francesco Vitale, Stefania Trozzi, Marco Fabri,
Luis Moreno Perona, Luca Piattelli
Strategy and development: Willeke Vester, Magdalena Dzambo, Bart Dankers
Copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries

Partners
Contractor: BAM Bouw en Techniek
Structural engineer: IMD, BAM Advies en Engineering
Landscape Architect: Delva
MEP: Techniplan
Building physics: Wolf Dikken adviseurs, Nieman
Architectural Engineering: INBO
Parking: Lödige, FiFi4marine
Wind: Peutz