West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture

Brandgrens - Rotterdam War Memorial of WWII - permanently marks the areas of the city that were destroyed by the bombing on 14 May 1940 and the ensuing fires that broke out. The bombing only lasted fifteen minutes but managed to destroy practically all of Rotterdam’s city centre. West 8 won the design competition in 2007 organised by CBK Rotterdam.

The design uses light objects to mark the fire limits permanently in the public space. An iconic image of a flame is incorporated in circular light objects on the ground and in several information stations, that together form the marking. The image of the flame shows a visual connection with Zadkine's statue commemorating the bombing of Rotterdam.The light objects come to life at night illuminating the icon. This physical marking of the fire limits is coupled with information about the historic meaning of the bombing, accessible through the information stations and a website.

On the 14th of May 2010, exactly 70 years after the bombing, the permanent marking is finished with the unveiling of the 'Brandgrenssteen' - the War Memorial Stone, which gives detail information about the bombing.