Immersive Art Adventure: Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen Opens its Doors in Rotterdam

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a new art storage facility in Rotterdam designed by MVRDV, opened its doors on November 6th, after almost a decade of work. The depot is not a museum, but a functional building designed to reveal the world behind the storage and maintenance of more than 151,000 art and design works. The depot offers visitors a new experience by arranging art according to size and climate requirements, not art history periods, and juxtaposing old and contemporary works to create new connections.

The MVRDV design team, led by architect and urban planner Winy Maas, opted for a round, sturdy, functional building that does not turn its back on its neighbours, instead establishing a new relationship with both the Museumpark and the city of Rotterdam. The building has a relatively small footprint but curves upwards with a 10-metre overhang to accommodate the entire program, including storage spaces, restoration studios, catering facilities, and film and presentation rooms. The building has five climate zones to accommodate the most delicate art, from prints and paintings to photography.

The depot owes its shape to the desire to give the building a relatively small footprint. As a result, the building takes up less space in the park but curves upwards with a 10-metre overhang to accommodate the entire program – storage spaces, restoration studios, catering facilities, and film and presentation rooms. The building has five climate zones to accommodate the most delicate art, from prints and paintings to photography.

The mirrored façade, consisting of 6,609m2 of glass divided into 1,664 panels, ensures that the building visually blends into its surroundings. The large entrance doors merge into the façade and only become visible during opening hours when the façade opens up like a gadget out of a James Bond film. Every day, depending on weather conditions, the depot looks different, like a living painting.

Inside, the most eye-catching part of the building is the atrium, with its crisscrossing staircases and windows into the storage spaces that give the impression of a panopticon, with a view of the art from all sides. Thirteen large display cases ensure that the visitor comes into contact with a collage of collection pieces as soon as they enter the building. For the interior, there was close cooperation with a number of artists: John Körmeling designed the entrance and Marieke van Diemen designed the display cases. Outside, Pipilotti Rist designed a light installation that makes the depot come alive at night.

The depot is also an experiment in adding nature to the city. This takes place in the form of the 35-metre-high rooftop forest, which was awarded the prize for the best Dutch roof even before it opened. The 75 birches, grasses, and 20 pines placed on the roof help retain water promote biodiversity and reduce heat stress in the city. The trees for this project were prepared for their new home for three years in a nursery. Their roots are interconnected and, because the windbreak and the cross-shaped restaurant on the roof protect the birches from strong winds, they will be able to withstand stormy weather even at a height of 35 metres.

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is the first publicly accessible art storage facility in the world. The brief was to design a building that would be as inviting as possible, where all different target groups would feel welcome. The depot is a building that makes many people happy, from skaters who have their own place outside to passers-by who try to figure out the best place to stand to take a good selfie. The building has added a new dimension to the Museumpark and brings different target groups, from schoolchildren to Feyenoord fans.

 

Press release by MVRDV

Photos ©Ossip van Duivenbode