The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen has been voted as a Popular Choice winner in the 2022 Architizer A+ Awards, with the public selecting it as the best project in the Gallery and Exhibition Spaces category. The award counted thousands of votes submitted by Architizer readers from May 17–27, with the depot emerging as the popular choice among five finalists.

The selection of the depot continues a run of prizes for the building, following the project’s success in – among others – the “stimulating environments” category of the BNA’s Building of the Year awards, de Architect’s ARC21 Award, and Architectenweb’s Best Public Building of the Year award. In addition, the depot is a finalist for the Rotterdam Architecture Prize, the results of which will be announced later this month.

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is the world’s first fully accessible art depot, breaking with a tradition of concealment that sees roughly 96 percent of all museum artefacts hidden in storage. The design makes the entire collection of the Museum Boijmans accessible to the public in a unique and iconic reflective building, specially designed by MVRDV to meet the requirements of this unprecedented typology.

Surrounded by art, visitors are led upwards through the atrium via five large zig-zagging stairways that are reminiscent of the etchings from Giovanni Piranesi. Visitors of the Depot can immerse themselves in the world behind the scenes of a museum and experience what maintaining and caring for an invaluable art collection actually entails, independently or with a guide. They can also observe conservation and restoration processes, packaging, and transportation of works of art.

The popular choice award for the depot was not the only success for MVRDV in the A+ Awards; Café Camaleon, the combined hotel lobby, restaurant, and retail showcase designed by MVRDV and GRAS Arquitectos for Casa Camper Berlin, was awarded a special mention in the Bars and Wineries category.

The full list of Architizer A+ Award winners can be viewed here.