Witte Huis
Encyclopedia
The Witte Huis or White House is a skyscraper
and National Heritage Site
in Rotterdam
, Netherlands, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau
style. The building is 43 m (141.1 ft) tall, with 10 floors, and was the tallest in Europe at the time it was built. It was also the first hoogbouw (literally: high-rise building) in Europe. The building is listed as a Rijksmonument
.
were driven into the ground to support the building's weight. The building is constructed from iron and steel and cement, and includes two thick interior walls which increase the building's strength. Unlike many other contemporary buildings of the time, wood was not a significant construction material due to the fear of fire. The building cost 127,900 Dutch guilders.
It was also one of the few buildings in central Rotterdam to survive the German bombing campaigns of World War Two.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
and National Heritage Site
National Heritage Site
A National Heritage Site is a location/site that regards a building, monument, archeological, geographical,natural or topological feature having a large value that has been registered by a governmental agency of a particular country...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style. The building is 43 m (141.1 ft) tall, with 10 floors, and was the tallest in Europe at the time it was built. It was also the first hoogbouw (literally: high-rise building) in Europe. The building is listed as a Rijksmonument
Rijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...
.
Construction
The architect Willem Molenbroek designed the 10-storey building, at the time an unprecedented height in Europe. The site at Wijnhaven 3 is just 1 m above sea-level and skeptics claimed that the soft soil of Rotterdam would be unable to adequately support the building, so before construction could properly begin, 1000 pilesDeep foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
were driven into the ground to support the building's weight. The building is constructed from iron and steel and cement, and includes two thick interior walls which increase the building's strength. Unlike many other contemporary buildings of the time, wood was not a significant construction material due to the fear of fire. The building cost 127,900 Dutch guilders.
It was also one of the few buildings in central Rotterdam to survive the German bombing campaigns of World War Two.
External links
- De bouw van het Witte Huis in 1897 The construction of the White House in 1897 (in Dutch)