In Amsterdam, the Stedelijk Museum is opening after nine years
Amsterdam - The gates of the famous city Stedelijk Museum will open for the first time since 2003 in Amsterdam on Saturday. Thanks to its extensive collections of fine arts, it is one of the most sought-after world galleries. After a major renovation costing nearly 130 million euros (over three billion crowns), the museum now has a completely new wing. Its appearance, which locals say resembles a white bathtub, has sparked both enthusiasm and criticism, according to the DPA agency.
The museum will be ceremonially opened by Dutch Queen Beatrix, and from Sunday the institution will be freely accessible to the public. People will thus have the first chance to take a look inside the futuristic-looking new wing, which is the new landmark of Museumplein square. Alongside the Stedelijk Museum, the royal Rijksmuseum and a concert hall also stand on the square.
The brand new wing is 100 meters long and 18 meters high, and the exhibition space has nearly doubled to the current 20,000 square meters. The project was designed by Dutch architect Mels Crouwel, whose unconventional technological solution has sparked significant discussions about whether the building is visually appealing or not. Crouwel sought a material that would allow him to design a completely smooth seamless facade, and ultimately chose synthetic twaron, which is commonly used in the production of military helmets or satellites.
The smooth white surface has led to the new museum wing quickly gaining the nickname "bathtub." "We waited nine years and now we have it: a bathtub. It doesn't fit here at all," critically assessed one local resident, Marijke, for DPA. "A beautiful building. It's just right for modern art," thinks 57-year-old Wim. The entire city is similarly divided, but the architects are not bothered. "It's typical for Amsterdam. At least people are talking about the museum," believes Crouwel.
Regardless of what people may think about the architects' vision, the institution's leadership expects a huge influx of visitors, who have been waiting nearly ten years to see the valuable collections. In addition to works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, or the extensive collection of abstraction, visitors can look forward to the exhibition Beyond Imagination, which presents twenty young artists working in the Netherlands. It is estimated that around half a million people pass through the gates of the Stedelijk Museum each year.
The museum will be ceremonially opened by Dutch Queen Beatrix, and from Sunday the institution will be freely accessible to the public. People will thus have the first chance to take a look inside the futuristic-looking new wing, which is the new landmark of Museumplein square. Alongside the Stedelijk Museum, the royal Rijksmuseum and a concert hall also stand on the square.
The brand new wing is 100 meters long and 18 meters high, and the exhibition space has nearly doubled to the current 20,000 square meters. The project was designed by Dutch architect Mels Crouwel, whose unconventional technological solution has sparked significant discussions about whether the building is visually appealing or not. Crouwel sought a material that would allow him to design a completely smooth seamless facade, and ultimately chose synthetic twaron, which is commonly used in the production of military helmets or satellites.
The smooth white surface has led to the new museum wing quickly gaining the nickname "bathtub." "We waited nine years and now we have it: a bathtub. It doesn't fit here at all," critically assessed one local resident, Marijke, for DPA. "A beautiful building. It's just right for modern art," thinks 57-year-old Wim. The entire city is similarly divided, but the architects are not bothered. "It's typical for Amsterdam. At least people are talking about the museum," believes Crouwel.
Regardless of what people may think about the architects' vision, the institution's leadership expects a huge influx of visitors, who have been waiting nearly ten years to see the valuable collections. In addition to works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, or the extensive collection of abstraction, visitors can look forward to the exhibition Beyond Imagination, which presents twenty young artists working in the Netherlands. It is estimated that around half a million people pass through the gates of the Stedelijk Museum each year.
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