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Architects: Benthem Crouwel Architects
- Area: 2350 m²
- Year: 2008
Text description provided by the architects. The Penthouse floats a good three metres above the Las Palmas building, held aloft on thin steel columns. This two-story office volume is rounded off vertically at the head ends, in deliberate contrast with all other buildings on Wilhelmina Pier. The maritime mood projected by the Penthouse refers to its waterside location and to the history, inextricably interwoven with shipping, of the Kop van Zuid project on the south bank of the Maas River.
The Penthouse stands on twenty-three columns, with special attention to the feet to enhance the floating effect. The main core of Las Palmas stitches together old and new elements, lending stability to the whole. A large goods lift in this core ascends to a roof terrace, lying below the volume of the roof structure, and containing fourteen parking places. Above, the white volume opens up to the north and south with story-height butt-jointed glazing. Both directions offer an unimpeded view of the river, the Rijnhaven harbor basin and the shorelines of the city beyond. The Penthouse acts as an eye-catcher anchoring the refurbished Las Palmas in the skyline of Wilhelmina Pier.
