jppaulet
15-04-2008, 23:14
Building:
Kunsthal (http://www.kunsthal.nl/en-2-Kunsthal_Rotterdam.html)
Architect:
OMA - Rem Koolhaas (http://www.oma.nl)
Description:
The Kunsthal Rotterdam stages some 25 exhibitions a year. The Kunsthal presents culture in the widest sense of the word: old art, new art, design, photography - from elitist to popular. The Kunsthal frequently experiments with themes which in many cases provide the first impulse for an exhibition. This approach has resulted in an exciting and varied exhibition repertoire highlighting Impressionism, lingerie, Leonardo da Vinci, Blackfoot Indians, Jewels of the Orient, Pop-art. More than 3300 square metres of exhibition space are available in the striking building designed by Rotterdam architect Rem Koolhaas - a work of art in its own right, making a visit to the Kunsthal well worth your while.
The program demanded three major exhibition spaces - to be used jointly or separately, an auditorium and an independently accessible restaurant.
The site presents a dual condition:
the southern edge is bordered by the Maasboulevard, a `highway` on top of a dike. The northern side, a level lower, faces the Museum Park - conventional contemplation.
The building was conceived as a square crossed by two routes: one, a road running east/west, parallel to the Maasboulevard; the other, a public ramp extending the north/south axis of the Museum Park.
With these given, and the fact that these crossings would divide the square into four parts, the challenge became: how to design a museum as four autonomous projects - a sequence of contradictory experiences which would nevertheless form a continuous spiral. In other words, how to imagine a spiral in four separate squares. The concept of the building is a continuous circuit.
The pedestrian ramp is split, with a glass wall separating the outside, which is open to the public, from the inside, which is part of the circuit. A second ramp, running parallel and reversed, is terraced to accommodate an auditorium, and beneath it the restaurant. On the level where the two ramps cross, the main entrance is defined. From there the visitor enters a second ramp which goes down to the park and up to the dikelevel.
Approaching the first hall, one confronts a stairway and an obstructed view, which is gradually revealed - a landscape of tree-columns with a backdrop of greenery framed, and sometimes distorted by the different types of glass of the park facade. From there one follows the inner ramp leading to hall 2, a wide open skylit space facing the boulevard. A third ramp along a roof garden leads to a more intimate single-height hall and further on to the roof terrace.
Access:
Tuesday till Saturday: 10am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm
Closed on Christmas Day, 1 January, Queen's Day (30 April)
Adults: € 8,50
CJP and students up to 26 years: € 5,00
Youth over 6 and under 18: € 2,00
Children under 5: free
Groups of at least 15 peoples: € 7,50 p.p.
Kunsthal membershipcard: free
Location:
Museumpark, Westzeedijk 341
3015 AA Rotterdam
phone: +31 (0)10 - 44 00 301
email: communication@kunsthal.nl
Getting there:
Public transport
Kunsthal Rotterdam is in the Museumpark (also designed by OMA), 20 minutes' walking distance from the Central Station. Take tram 20 towards Lombardije (the Vasteland stop) or tram 8 towards Spangen (the Erasmus MC stop); alternatively it is a 5-minute walk from the Eendrachtsplein and Leuvehaven metro stations.
It is also possible to get to the Kunsthal by the Fastferry. It sails from Dordrecht via Alblasserdam, Ridderkerk, Krimpen a/d IJssel to Willemskade in Rotterdam. From Willemskade, it is about 5 minutes by foot to the Kunsthal.
By car
The Kunsthal is in Museumpark, behind the Boijmans van Beuningen museum and next to the Erasmus MC (the former Dijkzigt hospital). By following the signs for Museumpark, Boijmans van Beuningen or Erasmus MC, you will automatically be in the vicinity of the Kunsthal. You can park in Museumpark, beneath or next to the Kunsthal (payment is by Chipknip, Visa, or Mastercard only) or in the Erasmus MC car park (all methods of payment are accepted here).
see map attached (pdf)
Kunsthal (http://www.kunsthal.nl/en-2-Kunsthal_Rotterdam.html)
Architect:
OMA - Rem Koolhaas (http://www.oma.nl)
Description:
The Kunsthal Rotterdam stages some 25 exhibitions a year. The Kunsthal presents culture in the widest sense of the word: old art, new art, design, photography - from elitist to popular. The Kunsthal frequently experiments with themes which in many cases provide the first impulse for an exhibition. This approach has resulted in an exciting and varied exhibition repertoire highlighting Impressionism, lingerie, Leonardo da Vinci, Blackfoot Indians, Jewels of the Orient, Pop-art. More than 3300 square metres of exhibition space are available in the striking building designed by Rotterdam architect Rem Koolhaas - a work of art in its own right, making a visit to the Kunsthal well worth your while.
The program demanded three major exhibition spaces - to be used jointly or separately, an auditorium and an independently accessible restaurant.
The site presents a dual condition:
the southern edge is bordered by the Maasboulevard, a `highway` on top of a dike. The northern side, a level lower, faces the Museum Park - conventional contemplation.
The building was conceived as a square crossed by two routes: one, a road running east/west, parallel to the Maasboulevard; the other, a public ramp extending the north/south axis of the Museum Park.
With these given, and the fact that these crossings would divide the square into four parts, the challenge became: how to design a museum as four autonomous projects - a sequence of contradictory experiences which would nevertheless form a continuous spiral. In other words, how to imagine a spiral in four separate squares. The concept of the building is a continuous circuit.
The pedestrian ramp is split, with a glass wall separating the outside, which is open to the public, from the inside, which is part of the circuit. A second ramp, running parallel and reversed, is terraced to accommodate an auditorium, and beneath it the restaurant. On the level where the two ramps cross, the main entrance is defined. From there the visitor enters a second ramp which goes down to the park and up to the dikelevel.
Approaching the first hall, one confronts a stairway and an obstructed view, which is gradually revealed - a landscape of tree-columns with a backdrop of greenery framed, and sometimes distorted by the different types of glass of the park facade. From there one follows the inner ramp leading to hall 2, a wide open skylit space facing the boulevard. A third ramp along a roof garden leads to a more intimate single-height hall and further on to the roof terrace.
Access:
Tuesday till Saturday: 10am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm
Closed on Christmas Day, 1 January, Queen's Day (30 April)
Adults: € 8,50
CJP and students up to 26 years: € 5,00
Youth over 6 and under 18: € 2,00
Children under 5: free
Groups of at least 15 peoples: € 7,50 p.p.
Kunsthal membershipcard: free
Location:
Museumpark, Westzeedijk 341
3015 AA Rotterdam
phone: +31 (0)10 - 44 00 301
email: communication@kunsthal.nl
Getting there:
Public transport
Kunsthal Rotterdam is in the Museumpark (also designed by OMA), 20 minutes' walking distance from the Central Station. Take tram 20 towards Lombardije (the Vasteland stop) or tram 8 towards Spangen (the Erasmus MC stop); alternatively it is a 5-minute walk from the Eendrachtsplein and Leuvehaven metro stations.
It is also possible to get to the Kunsthal by the Fastferry. It sails from Dordrecht via Alblasserdam, Ridderkerk, Krimpen a/d IJssel to Willemskade in Rotterdam. From Willemskade, it is about 5 minutes by foot to the Kunsthal.
By car
The Kunsthal is in Museumpark, behind the Boijmans van Beuningen museum and next to the Erasmus MC (the former Dijkzigt hospital). By following the signs for Museumpark, Boijmans van Beuningen or Erasmus MC, you will automatically be in the vicinity of the Kunsthal. You can park in Museumpark, beneath or next to the Kunsthal (payment is by Chipknip, Visa, or Mastercard only) or in the Erasmus MC car park (all methods of payment are accepted here).
see map attached (pdf)