The New Rijksmuseum

Marco added company FSB (Franz Schneider Brakel)
9 months ago

HOMIJ added company HOMIJ Technische Installaties
1 year ago

Urbika edited "title"
2 years ago

Urbika edited "description, title"
2 years ago

Chris added this project

The Stedelijk´s main building was built during the years 1891-1895. Located at Paulus Potterstraat, a short walking distance from the Rijksmuseum, it was intended to house the collection of art and antiques left to the city by Sophia Augusta Lopez Suasso de Bruyn. The designer of the Stedelijk building was A.W.Weissman, an Amsterdam city architect at that time. It was during a period when Dutch architecture was searching for its values in the historical past. The Stedelijk´s neo renaissance facade, decorated with figurative sculptures, has been modernized and simplified during subsequent renovations, losing much of its rich decorum.

Cruz and Ortiz propose minimal alterations to the building itself. Their aim is to maximize use of the existing stairwells. On the uppermost level they propose to ease orientation by adding a number of small windows, painted in muted colours so they won't compete with the works on display. To improve acoustic performance carpets are laid out on the floors. Woven into them is a decorative pattern by Kuipers. According to Ortiz, their major concern was to deal with the circulation and light wells. The whole discussion about what type of museum the New Rijksmuseum should be did not influence their design. Neither did the discussion about the interior have any impact, except where it dealt with circulation. He is not totally sure about how the collaboration between themselves and the restoration architects, yet to be chosen, will evolve. On Friday next week the restoration architects will present their scheme and the Spanish team will be there too, says Ortiz. They will then discuss the further course of action and decide when to start.

2 years ago

Chris added company Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos
2 years ago