Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen

The Rotterdam Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, opened in 1935, has one of the most significant art collections in the Netherlands. Recently, the museum has been supplemented by a new depot.

Contrary to what the building task might initially suggest, the extension is not designed as a hidden archive but, for the first time worldwide, as a publicly accessible showroom. On six levels with a total floor area of 16,000 m2, visitors thus gain comprehensive insights into the extensive collection of the house.

The renowned Rotterdam office MVRDV emerged as the winner of the competition for the new building in 2013. Their design resulted in a 40 metre high, slightly elongated hemisphere made of prefabricated concrete elements, which, with its diameter increasing towards the top resembles a monumental bowl.

The contrast to the brick building is highlighted by a reflective facade. The shimmering shell is made up of a total of 1,664 slightly curved, mirrored glass panels with a total surface area of 6,600 m², which are distributed across 26 circumferential rings with 64 panels each.

The interior of the new building is no less spectacular with its dazzling atrium. An express lift also takes visitors up to the roof of the archive, which is designed as a viewing platform. In addition to a publicly accessible, generously open pavilion with a cross-shaped floor plan, the planners have also integrated a birch forest with 75 trees up here.

The design of the mirror façade proved to be a major challenge during realisation. As it is an open construction, it was necessary to make it watertight and airtight. The thermal insulation was realised with Kingspan Resol rigid foam panels, which were attached to the façade with four screws per element.

High-performance products from CARLISLE® were used to prevent the spread of fire: all horizontal and vertical seams between the panels were sealed with ARBO® Fire Tape FSR40 butyl tape. HERTALAN® EASY STICK GS self-adhesive EPDM strips were also used to create an airtight and watertight seal.

Similarly high demands were placed on the waterproofing of the roof surface. The root-resistant EPDM membrane RESITRIX® SK W Full Bond from CARLISLE® was chosen to provide long-term, reliable protection against moisture ingress. The root-resistant membrane provides a long-term, secure substrate for the intensive green roof of the depot building.

Once the waterproofing was completed, the light birch forest was planted on the roof. The result is that here, 40 metres above the city, it is almost as if you have suddenly landed in the middle of a forest.

Robert Uhde