MVRDV's mirrored cylindrical art depot in rotterdam gets the go-ahead

due to open its doors in 2018, named the ‘collection building’ – the proposed public art depot in rotterdam – by dutch firm MVRDV has been given the green light. based at the edge of the city’s museumpark, the dynamic storage and arts building for the museum boijmans van beuningen will total at 14,000 sqm area of private and public art collections, storage spaced, to a sculpture park; all housed in a cylindrical volume with a reflective façade surface. ‘it is fantastic that the public art depot will be realized,’ says winy maas, principal architect and co-founder of MVRDV. ‘in this way the entire population can share something that is normally hidden behind closed doors.’

the volume is serviced by an ascending route around a central atrium which ends on the roof
all images by MVRDV

at the entrance, the public route will zig-zag around the central atrium, weaving through the diverse array of precious art collections owned by the city of rotterdam. the path ends on the roof, where the restaurant and the sculpture park featuring the ‘futuro’ – the ufo-shaped house of finish architect matti suuronen, all the while, present sweeping views of the city. offering a commercial service for clients, the building enables collectors to visit their art and enjoy it in private spaces – the artistic equivalent of a sky box. additional depots and an office of the philanthropic foundation de verre bergen will also be accommodated within the bowl-like structure. see designboom’s previous article on the art depot project here.

on the roof there will be a restaurant, a garden and a sculpture park

40% of the project will be visible or accessible to the public

museum boijmans van beuningen will showcase european art from the middle ages to the 21st century

the current art depot is below sea level and at risk of flooding; the new storage will enable it to be protected

private collectors can rent space and buy the expertise of the museum for the maintenance of their collections

surrounded by greenery, the cafe is located on the ground floor

the reflective glass mirrors the surrounding area allowing the building to fade into its environment

project info:

location: rotterdam, netherlands
client: museum boijmans van beuningen, de verre bergen foundation, the city of rotterdam
program: 15,000 sqm art depot with restoration facilities, exhibition spaces, offices, logistics, bar, restaurant, sculpture garden and private collectors facilities
budget: total investment 50 million euro
sustainability: BREEAM excellent (goal)
team: winy maas, jacob van rijs, nathalie de vries with fokke moerel and sanne van der burgh, marta pozo gil, gerard heerink, elien deceuninck, saimon gomez idiakez
images: MVRDV – antonio coco
structure: pieters bouwtechniek
cost engineering: IGG consultants
installations: DGMR consultants
legal project: richard jan roks, kennedy van der laan, amsterdam, with jan knikker, fokke moerel