27 May 2019

New Phase for Boijmans

Last Sunday, 26 May 2019, the entrance gate to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen was shut. Almost 6,000 people visited the Rotterdam art museum during the last weekend of May 2019 to say farewell. The museum is embarking on a major renovation and rebuilding programme that is expected to take seven years.

During this transition the collection will remain as visible as possible in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2021 the collection will be housed in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world’s first publicly accessible art depot.

Over a period of 170 years the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam has grown into a superb collection of 154,000 works of art. In 1935 the museum was established at its present location; Museumpark. Many decades and millions of visitors later the building is now worn out and ready for a full-scale renovation and refurbishment.

Large-Scale Renovation

At the end of 2018, the city council opted for the most ambitious form of renovation and refurbishment, which means that the museum building will be rid of the risks posed by asbestos and flooding and will be made fire-resistant again. it will also be made ready for the future. The museum and Rotterdam City Council are in discussion with private individuals and private funds to achieve this. Thanks to this decision, and with the help of external investors and the Dutch government, the museum will be able to restore its current buildings to their former glory, meet current requirements again and expand its international position as an art museum.

Planning

The large-scale programme of rebuilding and renovation started in January 2019 with the closure of the Van der Steur Building and the rehousing of the art. Sunday, 26 May was the last day the Boden exhibition wing remained open. The total project is expected to last seven years. Removing the asbestos is expected to take a year. The search for an architect was started recently and the Programme of Requirements that will form the basis for the provisional design is being compiled.