From warehouse to museum

The 16,000-square-meter warehouse, which formerly served as a transshipment point for the Holland-America Line, has been extensively restored and redesigned by Rotterdam-based Bureau Polderman. With a length of 172 meters, the building was the largest warehouse in the world when it was completed in 1922 – a symbol of Rotterdam's economic and maritime importance.

The restoration of the historic façade, the characteristic windows, and the green sliding doors ensures that the building retains its original charm. However, the highlight is MAD Architects' “Tornado”: a 30-meter-high steel and wood sculpture with a double helix staircase. This imposing structure welcomes visitors from the outside and is considered a symbol of movement and new beginnings.

Opening exhibition “All Directions”

For its opening, the museum presented, among other things, the exhibition “All Directions”, which featured over 150 works of art and objects from the FENIX collection that address migration in a variety of ways – including a UNHCR tent, a fragment of the Berlin Wall, and a Nansen passport from 1923. Members of the local community were also invited to contribute personal items to tell their own stories and journeys to a new home. The exhibition is still open and can be visited.

The Suitcase Labyrinth: Art that moves

On the ground floor of FENIX is the Suitcase Labyrinth: an interactive installation made up of 2,000 donated suitcases from all over the world. Each one represents a personal story of departure, farewell, and new beginnings – making migration a deeply human experience. The collection ranges from large leather suitcases from the early 20th century to backpacks and hat boxes to modern wheeled suitcases that were in use until recently. Some of these pieces of luggage have been passed down through generations, while others are returning to their original port of departure in Rotterdam for the first time after decades of travel.

Visitors can experience the stories through an interactive audio tour, taking them on an emotional journey through love, loss, hope, and homecoming. The labyrinth is complemented by artworks such as Alfredo Jaar's neon installation “Kindness of Strangers,” which visualizes global migration routes and illustrates that migration rarely follows a straight path, but is characterized by detours, interruptions, and the humanity of strangers.