Valkhof Museum,
Nijmegen
The woods
of Kelfkensbos are bounded by built development, trees and a historic town
rampart. Building the museum partly above and partly below ground level gets
the most out of the existing difference in height and consolidates the
relationship with the surrounding area. The old ramparts are kept in sight by
means of a see-through glass slab which chops the square into a city plaza and
an enclosed museum square cum sculpture garden. Entrance, museum shop, museum
café, exhibition area and the circulation system are all clearly visible.
Stairs and lifts lead from the open ground floor to the inward-looking library
and offices above, and to the workshops and spaces for exhibitions, storage and
education below. A wide diversity of spaces prevails with each function having
its own architectural container. The offices look out over the park, the
reading room over the river Waal and the café
over the square (Valkhof). The glass facades of the café make the connection
with the museum garden whose ground plane is the translucent walk-all-over roof
of the exhibition space.
Client
City of
Nijmegen
Architect
Benthem
Crouwel Architekten
Start design
1995
