History

Not much was known about this building until recently. Only that it was a post–war warehouse with a distinctive concrete and brick facade. Research done by Concrete Culture has revealed its remarkable history. Although the main mission of Concrete Culture is to provide a permanent space for arts, culture, and technology, creating awareness of heritage is one of Concrete Culture's core values. To build a sustainable vision for the future, it is essential to safeguard legacy at the same time.

Katoenhuis and Van Bennekum's Havenbedrijf represent a lesser-known story within the M4H district, and Concrete Culture is continuously researching this history—both independently and in collaboration with partners.

It all began with Jan Dirk van Bennekum, a businessman active in shipping services. After 21 years in the trade and holding office at Graaf Florisstraat, he decided to expand and relocate the company to the Keilehaven – a relatively small harbor dug between 1912 and 1914 in one of the branches of the Merwe–Vierhavens area and named after the formal polder it was built upon.

On April 1, 1951, Jan Dirk van Bennekum built the first of three company warehouses, which became known as the Katoenloods Van Bennekum’s Havenbedrijf, located at Keilestraat 9C (Port 294).

The building was a part of the 3-building ensemble, that were built in various stages. It was designed by Vermeer & Van Herwaarden. Architect Willem Vermeer (1908-1993) and civil engineer Jacques van Herwaarden (1903-1985) were particularly active in the post-war reconstruction, especially with housing projects but also commercial and office buildings, of which the Institute for the Blind is best known.

The warehouse became operational in the spring of 1951 and was used to store cotton bales coming in from South America and Egypt.

Bennekum’s grandson and third and last generation that was leading the company, Jan Dirk, still remembers his first job. "Oh, all those cotton bales! They needed to be labelled and numbered manually, one by one. I was 12 or 13, and my first side job, for some pocket money, was to label cotton bales. I was the only boy, surrounded by female workers. They worked in the lab to test cotton. That’s my earliest memory of Keilestraat 9c [Katoenhuis]," says Jan Dirk.

As the years went by, Van Bennekum’s family didn’t lose their entrepreneurial grit and continued to build and manage multiple warehouses across the port (including a third warehouse next to the original one, on Keilestraat 9A). The company expanded on the South bank and continued at 1e Eemhaven and Waalhaven, where Van Bennekum Havenbedrijf had the buildings built in 1966 for future use.

The 90s, however, were challenging years, with increasing competition and significant shifts in the landscape. Around that time, the warehouse on Keilestraat 9A was demolished to make room for the construction of Benjamin Franklinstraat and the damming of part of the port branch (filling the eastern part of the Keilehaven) to create new land (1994-95). Of the initial complex of three Van Bennekum warehouses, only Keilestraat 9B and 9C were left standing.

The growing trend of Van Bennekum Havenbedrijf started to shift, and eventually, the company succumbed to the challenges of upscaling in a highly competitive landscape. Van Bennekum sold the company in the early 2000s.

Early 2000s – A brief moment of creativity and electronic music awakening

In the years that followed after Van Bennekum Havenbedrijf left, new forces started to gain weight in the area. The low real estate value of the area started to attract makers, young entrepreneurs, architects, designers, and artists who could not find suitable working spaces elsewhere in the city.

In the earlier 2000s a group of spatial designers, architects, musicians, and video makers started organizing electronic music events under the collective name Reactor in Katoenhuis, which was renamed Warehouse 294 (named after the adjacent port number) at the time.

The location became the birthplace of a new stage design brand founded by Marvin Berrier, Ingrid Podt and Giovanni Palumbo, Takayama Katachi Stage and Design Division B.V. In addition to Takayama Katachi, the building also housed now internationally renowned event industry veterans such as Rutger Jansen (co-founder of Backbone), Sander Reneman (Twofiftyk), and Linda Holleman (formerly of Mojo and ID&T).

This was a brief moment in time when Katoenhuis had the chance to become a hub for the creative industry. It was a vibrant cultural spot, with plans in place to develop it into a thriving creative center. Talent from the event industry emerged and was nurtured here—it was already a place for makers.

2007 - 2023 The fruit refrigeration phase

In 2007 Antonio Oken, a local entrepreneur who owned the successful fruit import company Opticool across the street, set his eyes on the warehouse. He acquired the building and transformed it into the new company headquarters. Oken turned the ground floor into a refrigerated warehouse, while the first floor was destined for packaging. Part of the ground floor was repurposed into administrative offices, from which the business developed momentously. In addition, changes were made to the building's Westside facade by creating larger windows for the offices. Opticool’s business grew to ship and store fruit coming from all over the world, from the Canary Islands to Peru, Ecuador, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Morocco, Cuba, and beyond.

In 2014, the company merged with AGRO Merchants Rotterdam, a company shipping and storing products mainly from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, besides offering related services. The Katoenhuis became the hub from which the products were further distributed to Europe. In the ever-changing economic landscape of the port, in 2020 AGRO Merchants sold to Americold, the latest tenant that was using the building for tropical fruit storage. Meanwhile, this branch of the port finally gained public attention as a potential redevelopment area.

About the Collectie Van Bennekum

This research was done by looking into different sources. However, the biggest source of information was the Collectie Van Bennekum.

The Collectie Van Bennekum consists of artifacts, glass negatives, photographs, and documents that tell the story of the Van Bennekum family and their company, Van Bennekum's Havenbedrijf. The collection spans from approximately 1910 to the mid-1980s and centers around themes such as the family itself, the Feyenoord football club, the Port of Rotterdam, the maritime industry, and the cotton trade.

The collection was donated to Concrete Culture by the Van Bennekum family. Concrete Culture conducted the initial archival research and digitisation of glass negatives. While part of the material focuses on Katoenhuis, it also documents other warehouses operated by Van Bennekums Havenbedrijf.