BlueCity: from a swimming pool to the circular entrepreneurs’ workspace
The BlueCity building is located in Rotterdam, close to the Blaak and Oostplein metro stops on the bank of the river Nieuwe-Maas. It is easy to spot it by the huge ‘Tropicana’ sign on the roof which was the name of the swimming-pool previously located in the building. It is visible even from the other side the river with its large glass roof and round shape.
We visited BlueCity on a rainy and windy day with the goal to find out the story behind this iconic building and its transformation from the recreation centre into the incubator for circular entrepreneurs. Luckily, we had a chance to talk with Diana Van Ewijk, who is the Head of Team Storytelling at BlueCity, and who was happy to answer all the posed questions.
The Tropicana swimming pool with slides, saunas, beauty and thermal centres was built in 1988. Due to some maintenance issues and a number of other problems, the recreational complex was closed after 22 years, in 2010.
Three years later, Siemen Cox and Mark Slegers (founders of Rotterzwam and BlueCity), came up with an original idea of using the building. At this time, they were reading a book which later became their source of inspiration — the Blue Economy Book by Gunter Pauli. It explains the concept and the main principles of Blue Economy. Inspired by this book, Siemen and Mark decided to do their best in making Blue Economy a reality uniting circular entrepreneurs in one space and creating a new ecosystem. That is where the name BlueCity derives from. Rotterzwam also became one of the first startups in the building. Later other companies, like Vet&Lazy brewery, Kromkommer, Aloha Bar and others moved to the building. The concept of ‘a city greenhouse’ started being formed at that time.
In 2014 the Municipality of Rotterdam expressed their interest in the BlueCity concept, fancying the idea of re-using the building in a sustainable way.
The idea to buy the building grew, but the residents needed an investor for it. It happened in 2015: the ifund Foundation purchased the building from Tropicana which was a milestone for BlueCity. From now on, BlueCity started growing from an abandoned swimming pool to a fully-fledged circular economy playground. The team worked hard on getting the building ready to host new tenants, finding more entrepreneurs to join the workspace and making its own money by, for instance, renting event spaces.
Diana shared that there are still people coming with swimsuits and towels over their shoulders searching for the Tropicana swimming-pool. She then has to explain to them that a lot has changed in the building and in most cases, people leave the building inspired by the idea of BlueCity!
Diana Van Ewijk joined the BlueCity team in 2016. She started as a Social Media Content Creator but soon took on all Communication, Marketing and PR for BlueCity. Nowadays she is the Head of Team Storytelling.
The same year the BlueCity Lab, the trial laboratory for bio-based design started its operation. In 2017 the building of the office space (in the former Tropicana club zone) was finished which ended up being 98% circular. Most of the construction materials for 100 new workspaces for entrepreneurs — wooden planks for tables, glass, were re-used.
Nowadays, BlueCity hosts approximately 30 entrepreneurs including such companies as Rotterzwam, CommunityPlastics, FruitLeather Rotterdam, Vet&Lazy, Verdraaid Goed Agency, De Krekerij and many others. They all work with the same goal — to make the circular economy a reality, to play their part in forming a sustainable future, to make an impact.
We were excited to share with you the story of the fascinating transition from a well-known in Rotterdam swimming-pool and disco bar to space for disruptive entrepreneurs willing to work together. In the second part of the BlueCity blog, you will learn more about the mission and ambitions of BlueCity and how they see their role in setting a circular economy agenda in Rotterdam and beyond.
This article was written by Daria Kholod, a Writer & Content strategist from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I write about the Dutch startup ecosystem, social & impact innovation and startup events.
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