Rotterdam's Echo brings Tokyo listening bar culture to the Groot Handelsgebouw

A bar built from wooden shipping crates stamped "handled with care" sits at the heart of Echo, Rotterdam's first listening bar, which opened in early September on the ground floor of the post-war Groot Handelsgebouw opposite Rotterdam Centraal station.

Creative director Jeff Hoogendijk, DJ and producer Khalil Ryahi and architect Paul Cournet teamed up to create the venue, taking inspiration from listening bars they visited in Tokyo. Cournet's architecture and design studio, Cloud, designed the interior.

Cournet said the idea was to adapt the listening bar concept to the creative energy of Rotterdam. "We wanted to make it super local," he told Dezeen.

What does the bar look like?

The main bar doubles as a service counter and the DJ area. Baleart Handlers, a company that manufactures wooden shipping crates specifically for transporting artworks, built it. It's a deliberate nod to Rotterdam's status as home to Europe's largest seaport.

Its sides are printed with the words "handled with care", which became Echo's tagline.

"We thought it would be so cool make the bar an art crate because we treated everything, from music to hospitality, as if it were art," said Cournet. "We always wanted to do everything in the best way possible."

Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis, who is Cournet's partner, contributed several works. Her signature ombré mirrors line the walls, reflecting shades of red and gold, while a linear resin lamp hangs above the bar.

Polish brand Tylko supplied much of the furniture, including modular shelving that extends across the walls to display vinyl.

How does the sound system work?

The setup ties together two earlier collaborations. Cournet previously worked with Tylko on its Berlin showroom, a project that led to a partnership with audio company Form Follows Frequency.

Together, they developed a colourful system of speakers and subwoofers that slot precisely into Tylko's shelving, which launched earlier this year. Two sculptural speaker towers flank the bar, completing the sound system.

Cournet sees the design as a study in contrast. "There's a contrast between the rawness of the exposed concrete and the more refined elements, like the sound system or Sabine's mirrors," he said. "When you put them together, it creates a tension that I find interesting. The concrete feels a bit softer."

What does this change for Rotterdam?

Echo is one of several listening bars to open recently, joining Bar Bardo in Milan and Upstairs at Hausu in London, but it's the first of its kind in Rotterdam.

The space shifts from a coffee shop by day to a bar by night, with a curated retail offering. It can also morph to host exhibitions, listening sessions of 20 to 40 people, or seated dinners for up to 40 guests.

Since opening, the team has invited local record stores to contribute to the event programme. Cournet points to the city's musical pedigree as the reason the project has landed.

"Rotterdam has this really long history with music, with a lot of famous DJs and people who were pioneers in the music scene in the 1990s and 2000s," he said. "It feels like the project has really resonated with that community."