MAD has released a new design for Danshuis, a dance centre planned for a former warehouse on Rotterdam’s south bank of the River Maas, with an opening date set for 2030. The building, an Art Deco structure completed in 1923, sits beside the Fenix Museum of Migration, which MAD also designed and which opened in 2025.
The project is commissioned by the Rotterdam based Droom en Daad Foundation, the same client behind Fenix. Once finished, Danshuis will cover 9,500 square metres and is being pitched as one of Europe’s largest facilities built around the production and practice of dance, serving both professionals and amateur dancers across age groups and styles.
Inside the Danshuis dance centre
The programme includes 14 dance studios, an open podium, a gymnasium, exhibition space and a cafe. A rooftop hall, described as a Salle des Fêtes, is designed to host large public events and offer views over the historic harbour. A vertical foyer runs through the building, tying the studios and performance areas to the rooftop venue, and outdoor space is planned along the river’s edge.
Ma Yansong, MAD’s founder, framed the design as an extension of the neighbourhood’s identity. “Movement goes beyond architecture, becoming part of the character of the district,” he said. “The beauty of human movement and the moments of dance will resonate with Fenix, creating a continuous dialogue between the two.”
An evolving design for the warehouse
MAD’s plans for the site have shifted since the studio was first commissioned. An earlier scheme described by ICON in 2023 featured a yellow seagull sculpture and red neon signage on a second floor terrace, along with an open air semi-circular theatre modelled loosely on an ancient Greek agora. At that stage, Ma Yansong said the intent was to make “minimal changes to the original structure” and instead layer in art installations that responded to the site.
The version now released centres on a rippled glass extension enclosing a four storey foyer, with a folded, curving surface intended to echo fabric moving around a dancer. A spiral staircase inside the foyer will connect the building’s levels and, according to Parametric Architecture, is meant to turn the act of moving through the building into something visible from the outside, in dialogue with the large circulation structure at the adjacent Fenix Museum.
MAD has described the approach as a way of retaining the warehouse’s industrial character while inserting a contemporary point of arrival. “The project demonstrates how cultural reuse can preserve a sense of place while introducing new forms of urban activity,” the studio said.
With Fenix already open and drawing visitors to Rotterdam’s waterfront, Danshuis is intended to complete a small cultural cluster on the docklands, linking the museum’s themes of migration with a building organised around performance and movement. No construction timeline beyond the 2030 opening target has been disclosed.
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