Fodor's Expert Review Het Nieuwe Instituut

Fittingly for a city of exciting modern architecture, Rotterdam is the home of the national architecture institute. The striking glass-and-metal building—designed by Rotterdam local Joe Conen in 1993—hosts temporary displays on architecture and interior design in seven exhibition spaces, giving a holistic interpretation of the history and development of architecture, especially the urban design and spatial planning of Rotterdam. Your museum ticket also includes a visit to the adjacent Huis Sonneveld (Jongkindstraat 12), designed and built in the early 1930s by the architects Brinkman & Van der Vlugt. Considered a classic of Nieuwe Bouwen style, stepping into the period-furnished interior gives a real sense of what ultramodern felt like—in 1933.