Reconstruction is the term used to denote the redevelopment of the Netherlands after the destruction of World War Two. In architecture and urban design it chiefly covers the period from 1945 to about 1968, and Rotterdam is the ultimate City of Reconstruction.
The central theme of E55 was ‘the reconstruction of the destroyed city and the desire to overcome difficulties.
The Laurenskerk was badly damaged by the bombing of May 1940, though the spire itself remained largely intact.
Ahoy’, held in 1950, was intended to present the rebuilt port to the world.
An annual Construction Day was held in Rotterdam every year starting in 1947. On that day the reconstruction of the city was celebrated.
From the spring of 1946 on, so-called Reconstruction Rides (‘Wederopbouwritten’) took groups on bus tours to building projects.
In the Basic Plan the idea of the old city triangle was abandoned more fully.
During a speech by Johan Ringers on 15 April 1941 the first pile went into the ground for the Wereldhaven housing complex.
In opdracht van de dienst Stadsontwikkeling van de Gemeente Rotterdam heeft Platform Wederopbouw Rotterdam een verkenning van de Rotterdamse expeditiehoven en –straten uitgevoerd.
The Plan Witteveen was made by the engineer Willem Gerrit Witteveen four days after the bombardement.
The best-known market in Rotterdam is the weekly market at Binnenrotte, with 465 stalls and an average of 70,000 visitors.
The reconstruction of Rotterdam was an excellent opportunity to tackle the flow of traffic in the centre.