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MVRDV’s public Art Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen has broken ground on the northern edge of Rotterdam’s Museumpark in the heart of the city’s cultural campus. The 15,000-square-meter reflective vessel will store the esteemed collection of over 70,000 art and design objects, adding a new cultural landmark to join the nearby Kunsthal, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Chabot Museum and Sonneveld House.
Officially breaking ground this past Friday, the BREEAM Excellent-planned “Collection Building” will combine restoration facilities, exhibition spaces, offices, logistics, a bar, restaurant, public roof terrace and private collectors facilities alongside a specially commissioned atrium that will allow visitors to experience 90% of the collection, including artworks in storage.
Originally conceived in 2014, the project was selected as the winner of an international competition for the building design held by the city of Rotterdam. The project was approved by the planning commission in November of 2015.
In addition the the publicly-accessible spaces, the building will include logistic spaces, quarantine and rooms for private art collections where owners can visit their art in a secluded space. Further depots and an exhibition space run by philanthropic foundation De Verre Bergen will complete the structure.
Site establishment on the project is now underway, which includes installing construction infrastructure and beginning to drill foundation piles. The building is scheduled to top out by April 2018, and be ready for public opening by the end of 2019.
Progress on the building can be viewed via a live construction cam, found here.
Learn more about the design here.
News via MVRDV.