bureau SLA links two buildings to complete dutch glass museum

bureau SLA links two buildings to complete dutch glass museum
all images © jeroen musch

the dutch national glass museum collects, examines, and exhibits glass art and design from 1850 onwards. it serves as the netherlands’ treasury, laboratory and centre of knowledge on glass. the glass museum was started in 1953 in the house of petrus marinus cochius, director of leerdam glass manufacturers and founder of the leerdam glass tradition. 

ninety years of history has left traces and renovating the houses was not meant to remove the history 

five years ago, the national glass museum’s management embarked on a process of renewal, restructuring its organization, redefining its mission and making strategic changes. the housing situation of the museum did not live up to this new mission and the existing cochius villa was in dire need of renovation. when the museum was able to acquire the adjacent villa on 30 lingedijk, bureau SLA saw the new opportunities to modernise the museum and its offices and to improve their quality by joining the houses. 

while some parts were renovated, others show signs of restoration, and some areas are authentic 

having two villas is charming, but provides the visitor with nothing else than to walk from one small room to another. by linking the two buildings, continuous exhibition rooms are created. the connection is more than a corridor; it is display space itself and becomes part of the visitor’s experience. furthermore, the connecting bridges serve as the museum’s storage space. this open storage is fully accessible, making the national glass museum the netherland’s first museum to give public access to its complete collection.

the bridges result in abstract, light-filled spaces

the bridges not only connect, but showcase the glass pieces

exhibition pathway

project info:

principal: kleurrijk wonen
client: national glass museum
design team: peter van assche, mathijs cremers, mick van essen, gonçalo moreira, gražina bendikaite, tereza novosadová
design period: october 2007- june 2009
construction period: june 2009- june 2010
constructor: sineth engineering en krabbendam boerkoel
furniture: piet hein eek
cost: 3,000,000 euro
status: completed
photographer: jeroen musch 

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edited by: juliana neira | designboom