What does a circular city look like? Discover it throughout June at the Test Site Material Depot, part of the festival hub of Rotterdam Architecture Month in M4H.

The Test Site Materialenwerf is more than a physical storage space: it’s a place for experimentation, meeting, and knowledge sharing. Here, the role of a Materialenwerf in Rotterdam’s circular transition is being explored. If Rotterdam aims to be fully circular by 2050, what will it take? How do you organize the reuse of building materials? What spatial and social challenges arise? And how can such a place simultaneously function as a public space for workshops, events, and education?

Throughout June, the Test Site Materialenwerf is open to the public. Visitors can take part in workshops, join guided tours of the Materialenwerf, and learn more about circular construction, material flows, and collective urban development—from hands-on activities to expert sessions with builders and designers.

Whether you’re a professional, student, local resident, or simply curious, there’s plenty to explore and experience. Come by, take a look around, and see how we experiment on a small scale with big questions about the city’s future.

The Test Site Materialenwerf is designed by Studio ACTE and realized by BENDE. The client is AIR – Architecture Institute Rotterdam.

Test Site Materialenwerf Agenda

Saturday 6 June — Community Day
Saturday 13 June — Workshop Day
Saturday 20 June — Workshop Day

The full program will be announced soon.