{"id":328195,"date":"2026-03-04T09:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328195\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:49:13","slug":"heatherwick-and-mecanoo-on-shortlist-for-new-world-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328195\/","title":{"rendered":"Heatherwick and Mecanoo on shortlist for “new world wonder”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dutch social venture Shift has revealed the five shortlisted designs in a\u00a0competition<\/a> to design “a new wonder of the world” to promote action against climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heatherwick Studio<\/a>, MVRDV<\/a>, Mecanoo<\/a>, Office for Political Innovation<\/a> and Ecosistema Urbano<\/a> are all competing to design the \u20ac240 million landmark in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

The brief calls for ” a 100 per cent sustainable landmark” that inspires people to take action against the climate and biodiversity crisis.<\/p>\n

\"RotterdamMVRDV has proposed Rotterdam Rocks, described as “a stacked landscape of living rocks”<\/p>\n

Planned for the emerging waterfront district of Waterkant, the 30,000-square-metre building will incorporate a 10,000-square-metre immersive experience, a hotel, a conference centre and a food court.<\/p>\n

The most radical proposal comes from MVRDV<\/a>, which is based in the city, together with a team that includes Joris Laarman<\/a>, a designer pioneering the use of 3D printing for urban greening.<\/p>\n

Visualisations show what looks like a huge pile of plant-covered rocks,\u00a0with an entrance resembling the mouth of a giant turtle.<\/p>\n

\"RotterdamThe proposal was developed in collaboration with 3D printing pioneer Joris Laarman<\/p>\n

“Rotterdam ROCKS! is a stacked landscape of living rocks that turns architecture into a regenerative, urban ecosystem and a new landmark for the city: rocks that breathe,” said MVRDV, whose back catalogue includes the radical Markthal Rotterdam<\/a> and the troubled Marble Arch Mound.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Strengthening Rotterdam’s experimental character, it demonstrates that buildings of tomorrow can merge nature and public life,” said the studio.<\/p>\n

\"TheMecanoo’s proposal is called The House of Shift<\/p>\n

The other Dutch firm on the shortlist, Delft-based Mecanoo<\/a>, has meanwhile proposed a building with a strong civic presence. The images show a structure with a tiered public plaza rising up through its middle.<\/p>\n

The architects say it will include “spaces for imagination, exploration, action, play and joy”, combined with “bold upcycling, carbon storage, energy neutrality and ecological integration”.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe design features a tiered public plaza rising up through its middle<\/p>\n

Thomas Heatherwick’s London-based studio<\/a> is proposing a six-tiered building it describes as “like a reef\u2011inspired ecosystem”.<\/p>\n

“Influenced by natural flows of movement, these layers offer spaces that bring people together, build climate awareness and show how a building can encourage lighter, more sustainable ways of living together,” it said.<\/p>\n

\"UrbanUrban Reef is a proposal from Heatherwick Studio for a six-tiered building<\/p>\n

The amorphous proposal from Spain-based Office for Political Innovation<\/a>, led by Andr\u00e9s Jaque, was developed in collaboration with Dutch studios Kaan Architecten<\/a> and LOLA Landscape Architects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Climate Section proposes a new kind of landmark for the Climate Age; not a monument, but a working section through the world as it is becoming, a place where climate is sensed, understood, and actively reshaped, together,” said the team.<\/p>\n

\"UrbanHeatherwick Studio describes it as “like a reef\u2011inspired ecosystem”<\/p>\n

Completing the shortlist is another Spanish studio, Ecosistema Urbano<\/a>, whose plant-covered proposal looks like a stack of different structures connected by external staircases.<\/p>\n

“Conceived as a regenerative living system, the building operates as a dynamic social organism that integrates public space, ecological performance, and civic life, actively fostering biodiversity and strengthening connections between local communities and wider ecological networks,” said the team.<\/p>\n

\"PlanetaryOffice for Political Innovation has proposed Planetary Landmark for the Climate Age<\/p>\n

Shift’s long-term ambition is to construct one of these inspirational “world wonders” on every continent.<\/p>\n

“People won’t change because they are told to,” said Don Ritzen, Dutch entrepreneur and founder of Shift. “They change when they experience that life can be better.”<\/p>\n

“The landmark and its immersive experience are built to create that moment by spotlighting real circularity and sustainability champions and showing that a better future is just one shift away,” he said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/p>\n

Snow-generating stickers help fight climate change effects in ski resorts\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The competition was first announced on Dezeen<\/a> in January 2025 and is being coordinated by New York-based agency DVDL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The winner will be chosen by a jury including Zaha Hadid Foundation director Aric Chen<\/a>, UNStudio<\/a> founder Ben van Berkel, and actor and activist Carice van Houten, and will be announced before the end of spring.<\/p>\n

\"byA Living Landmark is a plant-covered proposal by Ecosistema Urbano<\/p>\n

Dutch investors are funding the competition, including a \u20ac250,000 prize fund to be shared among the five shortlisted entrants.<\/p>\n

“Climate damage is likely to cost around six times more than mitigation,” said Ritzen.<\/p>\n

\"AThe building is conceived as “a regenerative living system”<\/p>\n

“Research also shows demand-side changes \u2013 how we eat, move, consume and live \u2013 could cut emissions by up to 70 per cent by 2050. On paper, that should be enough to trigger a major societal shift. In reality, facts alone rarely move people,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Shift aims to turn climate ambition into something people can experience. By combining art, architecture, innovation and education, the landmark is designed to make a circular future visible, tangible and irresistibly compelling, giving millions a clear pathway from inspiration to action.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dutch social venture Shift has revealed the five shortlisted designs in a\u00a0competition to design “a new wonder of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[53177,307,304,305,306,308,151666,93,61,60,88463,3948,814,815,10316,85443],"class_list":{"0":"post-328195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-and-design-competitions","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-ecosistema-urbano","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-mecanoo","19":"tag-mvrdv","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-sectionnews","23":"tag-thomas-heatherwick"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}