Dutch architecture practice Kaan Architecten has concealed a minimalist wing within the existing 19th-century structure of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
Invisible from the outside, the extension was added as part of an ongoing, ?100 million overhaul of the museum that began ten years ago and includes the restoration of its existing galleries and offices.
Top image: pivoting walls allows outsized paintings to be transported through the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. Above: Kaan Architecten has added a modern extension to the museum
Also known as KMSKA, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is one of the last and greatest examples of neoclassical architecture in Antwerp. Completed by architects Jacob Winders and Frans van Dyck in 1894, it now houses an extensive collection covering seven centuries of art. Kaan Architecten has been working on the building's masterplan, restoration and extension since 2003 when it won an international competition commissioned by the Flemish Government.
The white, high-gloss floor of the new wing stands in contrast to the museum's original wooden parquet
The studio designed the extension to be completely hidden within the museum's existing inner structure, so it remains invisible from the outside and preserves the integrity of the original 19th-century building.
"The 21st and the 19th-century museum couldn't be more different and more intense," said Kaan Architecten co-founder Dikkie Scipio.
"They embody an emblema...