For centuries, the Port of Rotterdam has been one of the world’s busiest shipping hubs. Today, it remains Europe’s largest port, and is second only to Shanghai in global output. In an urban region of just over one million residents, the bustling seaport remains a defining economic and cultural presence, and one now commemorated by the striking Portlantis museum, exhibition centre and lookout tower.

Designed by globally acclaimed local architects MVRDV, Portlantis sits on the roughly 2,000-hectare Maasvlakte 2 land reclamation site — a civil engineering mega project that substantially extended the Port of Rotterdam when it opened in 2013. Located on a prominent beach just off the port itself, the 3,533-square-metre complex is framed by the frenetic action of cranes and containers, taking the industrial ballet as an inspiration for a staggered form that evokes the movement of cargo on the horizon.

While shipping containers became a popular — and occasionally lazy — architectural trend of the last decade, the nautical setting facilitates a creative and contextually attuned take on the typology. Here, the steel containers are evoked via a staggered stack of five rectilinear volumes, which are paired with a red ribbon of a staircase with generous lookout spots on each landing, all leading to a panoramic rooftop terrace.

“Portlantis is a beacon, it’s eye-catching, but it’s also a kind of watchtower”, says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “When you live in Rotterdam, the port sits on the horizon — it’s ‘over there’ and many people don’t really know what goes on there. Portlantis gives people a way to investigate, to see how things are changing in the port, how that relates to the city, and how it affects the life they live in the city. It does this extremely efficiently — like a machine for storytelling.”

The crimson-red stair fosters a welcoming civic setting, inviting passerby to freely explore the building and take in the unique views offered from each landing’s vantage point. A similar principle shapes the interiors, with each of the five volumes contoured to create a distinct experience. On the west-facing ground floor, a cafe overlooks the dunes, while the fourth-floor restaurant faces out to the North Sea sunset and the Port of Rotterdam’s own nighttime “skyline.”

Spread across three levels, the building’s permanent exhibition is an educational ode to the region’s history and Rotterdam’s industrial culture. Designed by Kossmanndejong, the space is anchored by a ground floor model of the Port of Rotterdam, and a striking 22-metre atrium carved through the building’s open heart. The void is animated by a vertical exhibition in vertical yellow, showcasing the technologies and tools that accelarated the evolution of global shipping. Here are chains, barrels, tankers, propellers and — yes — shipping containers.

The story doesn’t end there. At once an homage to industrial heritage and a paradigm for the future, the building’s architecture is a teaching tool in itself. Clad in demountable metal panels, the facade is designed to be dismantled and reused, with an agreement to recycle the panels to the manufacturer at the end of their lifespan. Moreover, the low-energy building is outfitted with a dedicated on-site windmill — one that generates approximately 30 per cent more energy than the facility uses. Not bad for a stack of shipping containers.