i29's design for princessehof museum refers to earth, the natural resource of ceramics

this year princessehof museum, leeuwarden, the netherlands celebrates its 100th birthday, which is the motive for a major renovation with the goal of increasing its appeal and accessibility to visitors. studio i29 interior architects created a surprisingly modern interior in the monumental buildings, which date from the 18th century. the design features an entrance hall including the museum store and tearoom, the museum square, and exhibition areas for the vast collections.

the main challenge was to create a welcoming and contemporary entrance area in the rather closed monumental buildings — a timeless interior that matches the museum as a place for inspiration and surprise. in addition, the museum wanted to reorganize their comprehensive collection and a clear and surprising customer journey as a result. i29 interior architects was asked, together with communications agency the ambassadors of aesthetics, to translate this vision into reality.

to attract more people and offer visitors an option of perusing the tearoom and museum store, the entrance area is entirely opened up — visitors can now access the museum from both the front and back entrances. the new area welcomes visitors to a spacious entrance hall with lots of daylight; the space also connects the museum store, cash register area, and tearoom in one.

the horizontal alignment and level differences in the objects are a subtle reference to earth layers, the natural resource of ceramics. behind the counters, integrated ramps offer disabled people access to the museum. a large garden that is adjacent to the tearoom is also accessible to the public. 

to create an intensive experience throughout the various spaces, i29 added clear contrasts, which are most visible in the passage areas. for example, the tearoom features vibrant fresh colors, while the museum store, in contrast, has tranquil grey tones so that all of the attention is focused on the products. also, the transition from the contemporary entrance area to the monumental museum square is a surprising metamorphosis.

the walls of the museum square boast hand-painted wallpaper and have a sleek graphical installation with seating elements and information screens. other rooms were restored in original colors after historical research by the ambassadors of aesthetics. for the ‘mass production’ room, an installation was made of what seems to be simply stacked, brightly lit white boxes where visitors are fully encircled by ceramics. this installation leads to the ‘art nouveau’ room, where the experience is exactly the opposite.

the room is completely darkened, isolating the exhibited objects and making them look like they are floating in the air. the simplicity of the design interventions contrasts with the monumental shell. the contrasts between old/new and monumental/contemporary complement each other, and together they form a powerful and surprising whole. it places the monument to here and now, not only in the functional sense. in line with i29’s design philosophy that an inspiring environment is not dependent on expensive materials or technical show, this project was completed on a very tight budget.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom