Architectural Record 2015-02

98
ARCHITECTURAL RECORD FEBRUARY 2015 BUILDING TYPE STUDY RENOVATION, RESTORATION, ADAPTATION
pieces together by digging down. “This project was all about
logistics,” he says. “It is more about organizing and cleaning
up than about design—it is important that visitors immediately
understand where they are and where they’re going.”
To connect the mansion to Plein 26, the team excavated
below the forecourt, expanding the basement to create a new
lobby, which extends beneath the street, creating a seamless
and inviting new public space. Since the last renovation,
in 1987, visitors had to enter a cramped lower level, arriving
through a service entrance. Now they pass through the
mansion’s gates—a privilege long reserved for royalty and
visiting dignitaries—and descend to the lobby through an
opening carved out of the forecourt. They can take a cylindrical
glass elevator or an elegant winding stair to a sunken
courtyard, from which they enter the building through a
full-height glass wall.
Subterranean though it is, there is nothing gloomy about
the new lobby. Daylight streams in through the glazed wall
as well as through glass panels in the forecourt’s paving.
10
2
13
14
13
13 13
11
11
2
13 13
2
12
2
12
13
2
2
GROUND FLOOR
8
8
9
10
SECOND FLOOR
13
7
7
15
1 ENTRANCE
2 ELEVATOR
3 LOBBY
4 CLOAKROOM
5 INFORMATION DESK
6 MUSEUM SHOP
7 TEMPORARY EXHIBITION
8 BRASSERIE
9 KITCHEN
10 OFFICE
11 ARCHIVE
12 FORECOURT
13 GALLERY
14 BANQUET ROOM
15 ART STUDIO
2
1
2
BASEMENT LEVEL
0 30 FT.
10 M.
5
3
4
7
6
2
credits
ARCHITECT: Hans van Heeswijk Architects
— Dick de Gunst, project architect;
Stephanie Haumann, project manager
CONSULTANTS: ABT, Arup, DPA
Cauberg-Huygen (engineers); Askon Eden
(restoration); Stephanie Gieles (interiors)
CLIENT: Royal Picture Gallery
Mauritshuis Foundation
SIZE: 38,000 square feet (renovation);
73,000 square feet (new construction)
COST: $36 million
COMPLETION DATE: June 2014
SOURCES
ELEVATORS: Mitsubishi
GLASS ELEVATOR SHAFT: Octatube