The Depot wins Dutch Design Award 2022
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen wins the Dutch Design Award 2022 in the category Habitat. The award ceremony was in Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week.
The jury "something fantastic has been created here; a place that literally and figuratively gives something back to the city. The design questions what we want from museum collections and allows the public to experience art in a new way. Together with Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, MVRDV has designed an iconic building and a new typology of what a depot can be. Dealing with the collection as a whole becomes an experience, which affects not only the building but also the programming. Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen opens up a completely different spectrum of ways to present art and taps into layers that would normally remain invisible, such as insight into the art of conservation."
The client emphatically did not want a second museum, but a working building that showcases the world behind the storage and maintenance of a dizzying number of art and design pieces: 151,000 artworks, spread over 14 depot spaces. Here you can – on your own or with a guide – wander through the building or watch conservation or restoration work as it takes place. The MVRDV team, led by Winy Maas, opted for a round, sturdy building with reflective facade and a public roof garden, which always faces out towards its neighbours and visually blends into its surroundings.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is a collaboration between Boijmans Van Beuningen, the municipality of Rotterdam and Stichting De Verre Bergen. This Rotterdam based philanthropic foundation invests in social programs to create long term positive impact on the city of Rotterdam. The depot was designed by the architectural firm MVRDV and built by BAM Bouw en Techniek. With the investment in the depot, the partners look forward to strengthening the cultural capital of the city and making the collection accessible.