Tickets for the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world’s first publicly accessible art depot, are now on sale. The grand opening of the building will take place on November 6th 2021 – offering visitors a chance, for the first time ever, to see all 151,000 artworks in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen under one roof.

The depot viewed from Museumpark. Image © Ossip van Duivenbode

 

Over the past three months, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has moved its entire collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, design objects, and other artistic items from across five centuries into its new home – a rehousing on an unprecedented scale for the Museum. When the building opens, not only will its storage spaces be filled with art, but also the atrium will display selected works in the 13 glass display cases peppered between the criss-crossing stairs.

Windows provide views into various depots from the atrium. Image © Ossip van Duivenbode

 

In the depot, artefacts are stored according to their climatic requirements, as opposed to movement or era. Each storage space is climate controlled, with five different climate zones arranged according to works of art produced with different materials: metal, plastic, organic/inorganic, and photography. On the building’s roof, visitors will find a restaurant and rooftop forest, with 75 multi-stemmed birch trees joined by smaller conifers and grasses.

Tickets to visit the depot from November 6th onwards can be purchased from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s website; please note due to Covid restrictions, each ticket is tied to a 20-minute entry time: www.boijmans.nl/tickets

The atrium photographed before the art move. Image © Ossip van Duivenbode

 

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is a collaboration between Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Municipality of Rotterdam and the De Verre Bergen Foundation. The depot was designed by MVRDV and constructed by BAM Bouw en Techniek. Read more about the design of the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen here.