MVRDV's Rotterdam Rocks! Proposal Sparks Heated Debate on Dezeen

Readers of Dezeen have strongly criticized MVRDV's design, which won the competition for social enterprise Shift to create a €240 million landmark in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The project, titled Rotterdam Rocks!, features a series of stacked rocks adorned with terraces and greenery, deemed the most extreme of five entries. Critics labeled it a "horror," a "terrible nightmare," and something "Shrek would throw up." One commenter provocatively asked if it represented "the death certificate of architecture." Others challenged its environmental claims, with one remarking, "There is nothing 'green' about this monstrosity." In contrast, a single supporter praised it as "an original design." The article also discusses reactions to a US-approved giant space mirror, which some likened to a "tech-bro Death Star." Meanwhile, KPF's design for TP-Link's Shenzhen offices, featuring a one-kilometre-long "landscape ribbon," was commended for its creative exterior use.