MAD reveals designs for Danshuis, a center for dance that will transform a 9,500-square-meter art deco warehouse in Rotterdam (find designboom’s previous coverage here). Designed by Ma Yansong’s studio and located on the south bank of the River Maas, the project will bring professional and amateur dance under one roof when it is scheduled to open in 2030. The building stands beside Fenix, Rotterdam’s museum of migration, also designed by MAD.
The former warehouse, dating from 1923, will house fourteen dance studios alongside an open podium, gym, exhibition space, café, and a rooftop Salle des Fêtes for large-scale public programs. A vertical foyer will connect the building’s floors with the rooftop space, while outdoor areas will extend toward the riverfront.
renderings by Proloog
MOVEMENT CONNECTS MAD’S NEW CULTURAL PROJECT WITH FENIX
Danshuis continues MAD’s growing presence along Rotterdam’s waterfront following the opening of Fenix in 2025. While the neighboring museum explores stories of migration, Danshuis is organized around another form of movement: the moving body. ‘Movement goes beyond architecture, becoming part of the character of the district. The beauty of human movement and the moments of dance will resonate with Fenix, creating a continuous dialogue between the two,’ says Ma Yansong, founder and principal partner of MAD.
The relationship between the two buildings gives Danshuis a broader role within the redevelopment of Rotterdam’s historic harbor. The project adapts an existing industrial building for a cultural program centered on rehearsal, performance, training, and public participation. Developed by Rotterdam-based Droom en Daad Foundation, Danshuis is planned as a space for people of different ages and levels of experience. Alongside facilities for professional dance production, the center will also accommodate amateur programs and public events. ‘Building on the unique story of the Netherlands as a world centre for dance, we believe that Danshuis can be a meeting place, an open door to everyone, from our diverse local communities to international dance professionals to share in the joy of dance,’ notes Laura Dufour, director of Danshuis and deputy director of the Droom en Daad Foundation.
For the architects, the project also continues an interest in cultural buildings as spaces shaped by experience. Here, the existing warehouse provides the framework for a program in constant motion.
With completion planned for 2030, Danshuis will add another cultural destination to Rotterdam’s evolving waterfront. Alongside Fenix, the project suggests a changing role for the city’s former industrial landscape: one where old harbor buildings become spaces for producing new forms of collective cultural life.
the transformed 1923 warehouse opens toward the riverfront with public spaces and dance studios
MAD’s new intervention introduces a translucent, flowing form alongside the existing warehouse
a sculptural vertical foyer connects the building’s interior spaces with the waterfront
the entrance to Danshuis frames views through the building toward Rotterdam’s waterfront
project info:
name: Danshuis
architect: MAD | @madarchitects
founder and principal partner: Ma Yansong
location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
client/developer: Droom en Daad Foundation
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