PLP Architecture is preparing to begin construction on Tree House, a mixed-use tower on a key redevelopment site beside Rotterdam Central Station. Commissioned by Dutch developer Provast and won through an international competition, the project proposes a regenerative and inclusive vertical neighbourhood that brings together living, working and culture at the heart of the city.

Reaching almost 135 metres across 38 storeys, Tree House will be one of Rotterdam’s tallest mixed-use buildings and a prominent new landmark next to the station. Located alongside the Eurostar platforms, with direct connections to Brussels, Paris and London, it marks the city’s primary international arrival point. The building reinterprets Rotterdam’s characteristic podium-and-tower strategy through a vertically stacked, terraced massing that integrates closely with existing infrastructure and surrounding public space.

The upper levels accommodate 299 apartments, in a mix of privately owned and social rented homes. Below, 15,000 m² of office space is designed for innovation-led occupiers and includes coworking areas, a tenth-floor boardroom opening onto a planted terrace, and an eighth-floor roof garden providing shared work and leisure space. At street and podium levels, the project plays a key role within the Rotterdam Central District master plan, where building and city converge. Urban landscaping extends through the ground floor, while shops, entrances, meeting facilities, exhibition spaces, restaurants and cafés animate the public realm. The podium also incorporates De Dépendance, a platform for city culture and public debate.

Regenerative principles are central to the design. The building is conceived as an urban ecosystem, taking responsibility for its wider environment in the way a tree supports a forest. Glazed façades are articulated with stratified external balconies, forming a distinctive terraced profile while enhancing environmental performance. These terraces harvest rainwater and solar energy, reduce heat island effects, provide shading, and mitigate downdrafts to protect the pedestrian realm below. Extensive use of bio-based and recycled materials supports a circular economy, while generous planting across balconies and roof gardens—along with nesting opportunities for local wildlife—enhances biodiversity, air quality and biophilic comfort.