Arts depot

Architectural firm MVRDV has unveiled a new €50m public art depot, which will be built on the northern edge of Rotterdam’s Museumpark in the Netherlands.

The art depot named Collection Building will have a surface area of 15,000m of which 20% to 40% will be accessible or visible to the public.

The building will store the precious art collection of Rotterdam and will include spaces that are not accessible to the general public.

MVRDV said the building will feature seven different climatic conditions that will be ideal for art storage, offices and the public.

A public route will pass through the building from the lobby on the ground floor where a café can be found, up to an exhibition space, sculpture garden and restaurant on the roof.

The route passes art storage, conservation studios, galleries, logistical spaces and spaces where private collectors can store their collections.

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The architectural firm said that on three floors, the route passes through exhibition spaces that will be programmed by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

MVRDV architect Winy Maas said a public art depot is a new phenomenon to the Netherlands and that these depots are normally hidden in the periphery of cities.

"It is a bold initiative, which will raise the attention of the international museum circles. It offers space to Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and will help it to strengthen its international profile," Maas said.

The Verre Bergen Foundation is contributing €15m for the project and the remaining €35m will be provided through a loan, which the museum will repay over a period of forty years.

MVRDV will work on the provisional design over the next few months and will consult with the organisers of the various festivals that take place in the Museumpark, with the surrounding institutions and local residents.

The inputs from the consultation will help to shape the final design, which will be presented this autumn.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen said if the three commissioning bodies give their approval, the city council will make its definitive decision about the building between late this year and early next year.


Image: The art depot will be constructed on the northern edge of Rotterdams Museumpark in the Netherlands. Photo: courtesy of MVRDV.