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In its ambition to modernise, the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Museum is keen on a renovation. Its current set-up has the museum bursting at the seams on busy days. A new plan for the renovation project was presented today. This plan will provide the space required to turn the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Museum into the first Dutch research museum and yet avoid diminishing the building’s architectural value, which won it the Rietveld Prize in 1996.

A previous design for the museum put forward by Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ was subject to criticism. After the Cuypers Association submitted objections, the university held talks with all kinds of interested parties as part of a municipal meeting. De Zwarte Hond, the architectural firm responsible for the renovation, subsequently produced an amended design following consultation with the original architect Koen van Velsen. The design now tabled will preserve the façade and character of the current building.

Increasing number of visitors

The new design remedies the museum’s major bottlenecks. Extending the entrance area and incorporating a proportion of the current offices into the museum section will free up more space for exhibitions as well as facilities for the increasing number of visitors, such as a cloakroom, toilets and reception. The building will keep its open character with its view of the Oude Hortus botanical garden to the rear. Architect Kees Kaan observed the design process on Van Velsen’s behalf and states that the design ‘fully respects’ the fundamental intentions of Van Velsen. A preliminary consultation has now been held with the Building Aesthetics & Listed Buildings Committee (Commissie Welstand en Monumenten).

Fruitful meeting

Paul Voogt, Director of the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Museum: ‘I am happy with the current solution. After we had a fruitful meeting with the Cuypers Association and the architect of the original building, we found a way forward. While we had to reach some compromises during the process, the key thing is that this renovation and modernisation will enable us to make the museum an even better experience for an even greater number of people. Visitors will themselves become researchers in the new museum. Ensuring that visitors have a good time has always been the main point of the entire renovation, which we can now achieve with the current solution. There will be more exhibition space, with a greater degree of attention given to topical matters and innovative concepts, as well as improved facilities. In sum, we can set to work on becoming a future-proof research museum that befits a university city such as Utrecht and is in touch with the present.’