The building

Architects

The American architect Michael Graves designed the museum building and ensured that the museum was carefully integrated into its surroundings, both architecturally and historically. Landscape architect Lodewijk Baljon then made sure that the area around the museum was landscaped in a way that suits the character of the estate while preserving its ecological qualities.

The design

The museum building consists mainly of a rectangular structure whose typology refers to the original country house Reigersbergen, which has since been demolished.

The forecourt faces the Leidsestraatweg and is separated by a wide body of water. The distinctive front facade, the forecourt and the water feature create a recognizable entrance to the city.

The building has a gross floor area of approx. 16,000 m2. Great attention has been paid to the detailing of the building. The carefully designed facades have an all-round orientation with accents such as a pavilion as an eye-catcher on the axis of the Grand Canal of Marlot.

A sustainable future

The starting point was and still is to be as energy neutral as possible. Using a thermal energy storage system, ground energy is used for cooling and heating, keeping the temperature in the museum constant at all times. The energy required for this is generated by more than 1,000 solar collectors. To save even more energy and protect the valuable collection, we use LED lighting.