CARLISLE®: Archives are usually housed underground or otherwise hidden. The new art depot of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, on the other hand, will be open to the public. What is the idea behind this concept?

Fokke Moerel: The idea behind this is to anchor the museum even more firmly in the city and to attract new visitor groups. And the unusual shape of the building is ultimately the direct result of our dialogue with the location. Because the surrounding museum park and the existing buildings on site meant that the depot could be experienced from all sides and had no rear side.

We also wanted to cover as little area as possible. The logical result is a round floor plan that tapers towards the top. In Dutch, this results in a nice play on words: the word "Depot" can also be read here as "De pot" ("The pot"). The name for the building has thus emerged by itself.

CARLISLE®: And what role does the mirror façade play in this?

Fokke Moerel: With the design of the façade, we want to intensify the connection to the surroundings. The result is an architectural homage to the location of Rotterdam, where the slight curvature of the mirrored façade ensures that people can view the city from a new perspective.

CARLISLE®: The wooded roof area is also characteristic of the depot building. How did the idea for this come about?

Fokke Moerel: With the roof garden, we are compensating for the use of space on the one hand, but we also wanted to continue the existing museum park on the other.

The idea for this stems from a playful approach to nature. This is certainly also a typically Dutch approach: We know that our country is largely below sea level and can only be permanently inhabited thanks to intelligent engineering. This creates a completely different view of nature. At the same time, we have to look for strategies to optimise the use and density of the Netherlands' limited land area. Green roofs are an ideal solution.