new photographs show how MAD’s fenix museum of migration has come alive in rotterdam

fenix Museum of migration in Motion

The Fenix Museum of Migration by MAD has now been open in Rotterdam for several months, establishing itself as an iconic civic landmark along the city’s industrial waterfront. Rising above the historic port district, the museum occupies a restored warehouse once tied to the flow of migrants who departed from Rotterdam for destinations across the world. Now, with newly captured images months after its opening in May 2025, the project can be understood as not just a renovation, but as an active and lived-in landmark shaped by visitors’ reflections and spiraling movement.

‘Everything is in motion — people, time, light, the sea,’ says Ma Yansong. ‘This building invites us to rethink moments of arrival and departure, and to reflect on the reasons we set out in the first place.’ That sense of continuity between past and present is what connects the sculptural building to its cultural and urban context. Before the museum opened to the public, the architects documented their design process through a film titled ‘Ma Yansong: Journey to Design the Fenix Tornado’ — watch it here!

the Fenix Museum of Migration is sited in Rotterdam’s historic port district | image © Hufton + Crow

a spiraling monument for convergence in rotterdam

At the heart of the Fenix Museum of Migration in Rotterdam, MAD’s tornado-shaped staircase has emerged as the defining element. Two spirals rise independently, crossing and separating before joining at platforms that overlook the coastal Dutch city.

The team at MAD compares the project to similar occupiable monuments such as Heatherwick Studio’s now-iconic Vessel or the Little Island along New York’s Hudson River: ‘These projects, like the tornado, operate at a similar scale and share a strong commitment to experiential design.’

‘But where Vessel is often described as an Escher-like stair maze or built for spectacle, and Little Island as a floating garden for urban escape, the tornado in Fenix takes a different approach. It is less about retreat or display and more about convergence.

a ‘tornado’ staircase forms the centerpiece of the museum | image © Iwan Baan

mad’s Tornado Staircase as Civic Space

MAD’s Ma Yansong describes the Fenix Museum’s configuration as ‘random yet precise,’ a system designed for fluid movement that creates chance encounters. The result lends a choreography of visitors’ movements, as the layout organizes spontaneous interactions and encourages both individual reflection and collective experience as visitors ascend the spiraling structure.

The adaptive reuse of the museum’s warehouse preserves the industrial shell, a memory of the surrounding neighborhood. This warehouse had been restored by Bureau Polderman, while MAD introduced interventions to alter its historic atmosphere. The opening of the central roof floods the interior with daylight to animate both the preserved concrete structure and the new stainless-steel spiral.

‘The shaping and shifting of global politics, geography, culture, and art are largely rooted in these migrations,’ Ma explains. ‘We hope this museum not only commemorates the past or tells stories of hardship, but more importantly, reveals hope and courage — offering inspiration for people today and in the future to look ahead.’

the spirals rise independently before meeting at shared platforms | image © Arch-Exist

Structurally, the spiraling staircase demonstrates a high level of engineering innovation. Measuring 550 meters in length and rising thirty meters high, it cantilevers outward up to seventeen meters at certain points, achieved through a spatial truss system developed with roller coaster specialists. Its reflective cladding, shaped with CNC technology, captures shifting skies, waterfront activity, and the movement of passersby.

The experience of climbing the stairs is never fixed. Perspectives shift with each step, encounters take place at the landings, and the view culminates in the rooftop platform where the city and river unfold as a broad horizon. The architects describe it as both a journey and a gathering place, where movement is transformed into architecture.

Inside, the collection includes historical artifacts and contemporary commissions, presented in an open plan that encourages visitors to move fluidly between past and present. Wim Pijbes, President of the Droom en Daad Foundation, emphasizes this universality: ‘At some point in life, people make the decision — whether due to war, poverty, faith, or other reasons — to pack everything they own into one or two suitcases and start over on the other side of the world. What we must do is understand those emotions and give them form.’

the reflective stainless steel surface mirrors light and movement | image © Arch-Exist

the restored warehouse structure contrasts with the new intervention | image © Hufton + Crow

the museum presents global migration stories through art and history | image © Arch-Exist

project info:

name: Fenix Museum of Migration | @Fenix

architect: MAD | @madarchitects

location: Rotterdam, Netherlands 

previous coverage: November 2018, November 2020, January 2025, May 2025

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