a closer look at MAD’s steel tornado at the fenix museum through the lens of danica o. kus

Danica O. Kus captures mad’s tornado at the fenix museum

Through the images of Danica O. Kus, MAD’s Tornado staircase at the newly opened Fenix museum in Rotterdam emerges as a visual metaphor for movement, transformation, and memory. The photographer captures the double-helix form in a series of striking frames that reflect on migration as a physical and emotional journey. ‘I was inspired by its powerful visual metaphor for the continuous movement and transformation that define the experience of migration,’ Kus shares with designboom. Her perspective invites viewers to see the architecture as narrative, a story unfolding in steel and light.

Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the Tornado crowns the Fenix museum, spiraling upward through a restored 1923 warehouse in Rotterdam’s Katendrecht district. It is the centerpiece of MAD’s first cultural building in Europe, realized as part of a wider regeneration of the city’s waterfront. ‘I saw this really big, heavy concrete building… it’s monumental,’ Ma Yansong tells designboom in our exclusive interview. ‘My first instinct was to do something vertical, so you can recognize this is something different.’ His solution, two self-supporting spirals, creates a fluid ascent that doubles as a symbolic act. ‘You almost see your reflection as yourself traveling through time, always reflecting, borrowing the color, the light from the surroundings.’

all images by Danica O. Kus

the double-helix staircase captures and transFORms light

Architectural photographer Danica O. Kus emphasizes the experience that the museum’s architect, Ma Yansong, describes. Her images focus on the sculptural presence of the Tornado, revealing how the spiraling form captures and transforms natural light as it rises 30 meters through the repurposed warehouse. Clad in 297 polished stainless-steel panels, the staircase bends and glows as people move through it, echoing the lives and stories the Fenix museum is designed to honor. At its peak, the Tornado opens onto a panoramic platform overlooking the city and harbor, a viewpoint crowned by a steel canopy. With each shot, Kus brings the architecture into motion, framing it as a breathing element of the space.

For Ma Yansong, the project was always about more than just architecture. ‘The Tornado is a metaphor about a journey… we are part of a big web of journeys,’ he reflects. ‘Once we realize that we are all interconnected, we will be able to embrace the different paths that make up our own.’

the photographer captures the double-helix form in a series of striking frames

a device for people’s movement

Located at the edge of Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven, the Fenix museum stands on a site with deep historical resonance. Once a point of departure for transatlantic emigration, the original structure served as a gateway for millions seeking new lives overseas. MAD’s intervention retains much of the industrial character of the 1923 warehouse, layering it with new meaning. The building hosts a dynamic cultural program centered on the global and personal dimensions of migration, combining archival material, contemporary installations, and immersive storytelling across multiple levels.

The design preserves the original concrete framework and vast open halls, embedding them with architectural gestures that invite exploration. A wide public passageway cuts through the ground floor, accessible without a ticket, while a curved mezzanine level carves out space for exhibitions and gatherings. Light animates the interiors, filtered through skylights, reflected off steel, and constantly shifting as visitors move through the space. For MAD, the project is less about making a statement and more about offering an environment that, in Ma Yansong’s words, becomes ‘a device for people’s movement and for meeting each other.’

reflecting on migration as a physical and emotional journey

the Tornado crowns the Fenix museum, spiraling upward through a restored 1923 warehouse

the centerpiece of MAD’s first cultural building in Europe

a metaphor for the experience of migration

the steel surface bends and glows as people move through it

Danica O. Kus focuses on the sculptural presence of the Tornado

project info:

name: Fenix Museum of Migration | @Fenix

architect: MAD | @madarchitects

photographer: Danica O. Kus | @danica_o_kus_photography

location: Rotterdam, Netherlands


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