Euromast

Brief information

The Euromast did not rise as an ordinary urban high-rise, but as a tower for the Floriade 1960 flower exhibition. It was built in Rotterdam in 1958-1960 to a design by H. A. Maaskant. This origin offers a useful key: the structure was designed not for hidden work inside, but for looking outward and for the very effect of ascending above the city.

Originally, the tower was 101 meters tall and therefore became the tallest building in the city. Later, it briefly lost this status, and in 1970 it received the “Space Tower” on top: a spire above the observation deck. Because of this addition, the Euromast became 85 meters taller. Its present silhouette therefore reads as the result of an addition: the lower concrete tower and the upper extension tell different stages of one idea: to make the view even higher.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the three levels of the tower's design. At the bottom, an almost invisible weight is at work: the concrete structure has a diameter of 9 meters and walls up to 30 centimeters thick, while stability is provided by concrete blocks in the foundation weighing 1,900 tons, which serve as the center of gravity. This massive base explains why such a narrow vertical form stands so confidently.

Higher up is the “Crow's Nest” at a height of 96 meters: an observation deck with a restaurant. It shows the original logic of the Euromast: to lift a person above the city while keeping them on a circular platform around the tower shaft. Even higher, a different experience begins: from 112 to 185 meters rises the “Euroscope,” a panoramic cabin that rotates around its own axis. Transparent walls, hatches in the floor, and seats facing away from the axis turn the view into movement around the tower, not simply a view from a single point.