The Amsterdam code boutique won the RFP process led by Fabrizio Di Bon (Neverland) and developed shift.world. The digital platform goes live today. The platform is the central place for the community, the app and everything around the Shift Embassy in Rotterdam. Today Shift announced that the Rotterdam architecture firm MVRDV has won its international architecture competition for the design of the building. MVRDV designed Rotterdam ROCKS! as an iconic meeting and inspiration center and the future home of Shift.

Shift is a steward owned social enterprise that wants to drive large scale behavioral change around sustainable living. The organization does this in three ways. The Shift Community App helps people turn green intentions into daily habits, with insight into their impact and inspiration from the community. Shift is also building an international movement of people and organizations who want to accelerate toward a circular future and can serve as compelling examples for others.

The most visible part is the Shift Embassy in Rotterdam ROCKS! That building will become an iconic public destination on the banks of the Maas in Waterkant, Rotterdam's new ecological district.

Merlin is responsible for the digital experience that brings these parts together. The platform forms the stage on which Shift shares the winning design, the growth of the community and the road to the opening with the world.

"Shift wants to get millions of people moving to change society sustainably. That starts with attention," says Mees Rutten, founder of Merlin. "The message is urgent, but urgency alone doesn't hold anyone's attention. You have to reach people in the first seconds and then hold on to them. We are going to put everything into building a platform that earns and holds that attention."

Fabrizio Di Bon: "The Shift Embassy will become the central point for deeply felt experiences and inspiring stories around a sustainable future, worldwide. All eyes need to be on that building long before it stands there. That happens digitally. Merlin convinced us during the process that they are the party that can make that happen."

Merlin was founded in 2018 by Mees Rutten, Emiel Muis and Servin Nissen and has previously worked for brands like Dior, Heineken, Nike and several Dutch agencies. For Shift, the studio is working together with Tiny Mass, led by Massimo Meijer.