The Markthal Illuminated

The Markthal has been an architectural focus point of Rotterdam since 2014. Although millions of people visit each year, reports of dissatisfied vendors reach the news regularly. This research seeks to find whether there are differences between the intentions of the developers of the Markthal and the perceptions of vendors and visitors concerning the indoor food market and the architecture of the building. In doing so, connecting these two aspects of the building to the concepts of food as cultural good, city branding and flagship architecture. As follows, the main research question is: To what extent has the Markthal as an indoor food market and an architectural icon in Rotterdam fulfilled the intentions developers had when it was established, according to vendors and visitors? By interviewing members of the developing side and distributing surveys to vendors and visitors, intentions and perceptions of both sides are uncovered, and analyzed using coding and descriptive statistics. The research shows that, although the architecture of the building has fulfilled its intentions of impacting the image of Rotterdam and giving the newly developed Laurenskwartier a ‘face’, the indoor food market is suffering from the high number of infrequent visitors. Because of the cultural good characteristics of the products for sale in the market hall, personal relationships and trust between vendors and visitors are necessary for the market to flourish. Therefore, the intention of creating a food market for a broad audience of Rotterdammers has failed to be realized in the development of the Markthal. It is up to the managing parties of the Markthal to decide whether the Markthal will be further developed to be of service of infrequent visitors and tourists, or whether the indoor food market will be transformed into a place where Rotterdammers come to purchase their daily groceries.