Glass display cases filled with artworks take centre stage in the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, an art storage building designed by MVRDV, which is now open to the public in Rotterdam.
Billed as the "world's first publicly accessible art depot", the building brings together the entire 151,000-piece art collection of the neighbouring Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen has opened to the public a year after the building was completed
Unlike most museum storage depots, this one is open to the public. It allows the museum to reveal its entire collection, whereas most other museums can only present around 20 per cent or less at any given time.
Visitors are able to explore the building's different storage facilities, which showcase paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics and more. Circulation spaces weave between large display cases that showcase the museum's collection
MVRDV gave the building a bowl-shaped form, which is clad in mirrored glass, while its roof is a garden filled with trees. Inside, it combines storage spaces with restoration studios and galleries.
"As an architecture firm, it was our mission to allow a special art experience to go hand-in-hand with a building that takes an equally special form," said studio co-founder Winy Maas.
The Depot allows the museum's full collection to be viewed by visitors
Located in Rotterdam's Museumpark, the Depot officially opened on Saturday 6 November, more than a year since the b...