On Saturday 22 September the renovated and extended Stedelijk Museum will be officially opened by Queen Beatrix.
(Amsterdam) The new levitated superstructure contains exhibition space, a restaurant, a shop and the new entrance. Arup is responsible for the structural design and the lighting design. Designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects, the new building, popularly called ‘the Bath Tub’, adds over 9,000m2 to the historic museum building. This includes programme space as well as 3,400m2 of exhibition space. There is an area located in the basement which is suitable for many forms of contemporary art, being free from daylight.
‘The Stedelijk Museum is the first of many museum projects that Arup in the Netherlands is involved in and we are very happy that the doors will open to the public this weekend’. – Joop Paul, Project Director at Arup.
The Stedelijk Museum is now orientated towards the Museum Square, connecting the institute to the illustrious neighbors: the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Concert Hall.
‘With this reopening the Stedelijk Museum repositions itself as one of the leading arts institutes. It puts Amsterdam in the spotlight as center of artistic renewal and brings new life to the Museum Square, one of the most important cultural landscapes in the world’. – Ann Goldstein, Director of the Stedelijk Museum.
The museum maintains a collection of modern contemporary art and design of 90,000 objects dating from the seventies of the nineteenth century to the present. The historic part of the museum houses the permanent collection, including art from the oeuvre of Karel Appel, Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. In addition, the museum offers a permanent design presentation including industrial design, graphic design and applied art. The new building offers temporary exhibitions.
As of 23 September, the museum will be open to the public.
Web: www.arup.com
