Since its completion in 2008, this building – a 130 m long high-rise slab – has become the focal point of the historic Schiecentrale Complex in Rotterdam’s port district. The project by Mei Architekten, whose office is also in this Dutch city, is the culmination of a twelve-year restructuring process in which the former power station was transformed into an audio-visual media centre. The building’s four-storey base, which shelters a parking garage at its core and offices on the outer edges, borders directly on the old turbine hall. Shopping, sports and day care services are accessible from the deck. By rigorously separating structural members, facade and interior finishings, the architects were able to trim the planning and building process to just 26 months.