Rotterdam's waterfront gets ready to rock

 

Rotterdam's waterfront is ready to rock with the projected arrival of another architectural icon to its skyline. 

Dutch architecture firm MVRDV won an international competition to design the Shift Embassy, a major new cultural destination planned for the city’s fast-growing Waterkant district, which will be home to a planned district of 3,750 homes.

Commissioned by social enterprise Shift, the project aims to become a center for culture, education, innovation, and environmental awareness, encouraging visitors to engage with some of today’s biggest global challenges through immersive experiences rather than traditional museum exhibits.

Named Rotterdam ROCKS!, MVRDV’s winning design features seven stacked, rock-like structures rising from the banks of the River Maas. 

The building is envisioned as a hybrid between architecture and landscape, with green terraces, public walkways, water features, and panoramic viewpoints creating an accessible destination for both residents and visitors.

At the heart of the new institution will be The Elysium, a 5,000-m² immersive exhibition space designed to explore possible future scenarios through art, storytelling, digital technology, and interactive installations. 

The wider complex will include a 200-room hotel, conference and event facilities, classrooms, restaurants and cafés, community gathering spaces, and an observation deck overlooking Rotterdam’s waterfront, news hub Travel Mole reports.

MVRDV’s design places sustainability at the centre of the architecture.

The porous façade incorporates niches that will support vegetation and urban wildlife while helping retain rainwater. 

Once completed, the Shift Embassy is expected to become one of Rotterdam’s signature visitor attractions. 

MVRDV has not yet published a completion date.

Image: Rotterdam ROCKS! Rendering: MVRDV

Potential pommelier? Here's what you need to know

Australians who want to learn more about cider are in luck. 

 
For the first time, Australia is getting an internationally recognised Cider Certification with Lee Reeve landing in October with the American Cider Association’s education program, Cider Australia announced. 

Reeve is the owner-operator of inCider Japan and the Japan Cider Guide and is also the organiser of the Japan Cider Cup tasting competition and international cider event. 

He is described as the principal expert on cider in Asia and is a licensed educator for the American Cider Association, regarded as the leading international authority for cider education.

Reeve will be hosting a Certified Pommelier™ exam while in Australia - the first time this is being offered on Australian soil. 

The Certified Cider Professional Program is the ACA’s foremost cider education program designed to provide food and beverage professionals and enthusiasts worldwide with the knowledge and skills to understand and share the joy and nuances of cider.

This program currently boasts two distinct levels of certification. Certified Cider Guide (CCG) is the first level of certification designed as a fundamental course and is a prerequisite for the second level of certification.

Certified Pommelier (CP) is the second level and is a more advanced certification that covers more in depth cider knowledge, and includes a blind sensory evaluation.

The Certified Pommelier exam will take place in Sydney in mid October - date and venue will be released soon.

See https://www.cideraustralia.org.au/