052
PROJECT / STEDELIJK MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Pic: © Arup - Frank van Berge Henegouwen
Pic: © Arup - Frank van Berge Henegouwen
Pic: © John Lewis Marshall
Above left Beneath the gallery daylights, a diffusing vellum layer has been installed with adjustable spots on integrated recessed track to allow for accent lighting. Top right A section of the galleries in the original building showing the daylight entry sequence. Above right The ‘bathtub’ shaped extension appears to float beside the original building, a striking juxtaposition of traditional and modern architecture.
In order to maintain its key position in the art world, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam has been renovated and extended with a new addition by Benthem Crouwel Architects. In September 2012 the Stedelijk Museum was reopened to the public. Arup was the structural engineer, and in addition undertook the lighting design, the aim of which was to allow the maximum possible natural light into the museum, given the constraints of art conservation.
Restoration
The starting point for the restoration was to reveal the neo-Renaissance character of the original building, designed in 1895 and celebrated for its majestic staircase, grand rooms and natural light. During the renovation some non-original intermediate floors were removed, and new connections
made between exhibition spaces. Hovering superstructure
The new extension comprises a basement, a glass-enclosed ground floor, and an opaque ‘bath-tub’-shaped superstructure above, which as a result seems to ‘hover’ over the ground level, through which the original building is visible. An information centre, library, shop and restaurant with terrace occupy this transparent ground floor, which also houses the new entrance to the whole museum.
The new ‘bath-tub’ superstructure comprises two levels, a large exhibition space and auditorium on the lower level, with offices above. A large canopy cuts through the new structure at the gutter height of the original building. Large steel trusses in the façade make it possible for the superstructure to be
supported at only six points: five columns and one concrete wall, a solution that allowed the creation of a large open exhibition space. Arup and Benthem Crouwel collaborated on optimising the structure, including the location of the bearing points and the trusses.
Lighting design
The Stedelijk Museum, designed by A.W. Weismann, was always noted for its daylight, and when it closed for renovation one of the main lighting considerations was to maintain the feeling of it being flooded with daylight. However, analysis and testing showed that the existing daylight levels were in fact much too high for the health of the artworks.
Arup was commissioned to design the lighting and help resolve the potential conflict between user experience and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164