NEW - HAKA

Built in 1931-1932, designed by Hermann Friedrich Mertens and Jacobus (Ko) Koeman according to the principles of the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (New Objectivity) movement, a Dutch exponent of the modernist International Style movement. The building was constructed for "De Handelskamer", a non-denominational cooperative aiming to provide high quality goods at affordable prices for labourers. In this building they combined a tea-blender, coffee roaster and a packing facility, as well as offices and grain silos. It sits on the edge of the Merwe-Vierhavens, a now largely abandoned part of the massive harbour of Rotterdam. As this part of the harbour is being redeveloped into a residential burrough, M4H, the HaKa building, now serving as offices for a collection of smaller companies, will remain as one of the last traces of the industrial history of the area.