AMSTERDAM.- The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is internationally recognized as one of the most important museums of the Netherlands. With major renovations of the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum completed, the Van Gogh Museum now constitutes Museumplein’s third major museum to expand and modernize in order to accommodate the ever growing numbers of visitors. Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates created an elegant sketch for a new entrance building, to complement the existing elliptical building that was realized by the office in 1999. The idea was further developed and materialized with great attention to detail by Hans van Heeswijk architects.

This book documents the expansion of the Van Gogh Museum with lustrous images and elegant texts. Complementing images from acclaimed architecture photographers Luuk Kramer and Ronald Tilleman, architect and critic Maarten Kloos examines the development of the museum as set against the history of Museumplein, while architect Hans van Heeswijk discusses the reasoning behind the design.

Hans van Heeswijk said: “We ensured that the new entrance hall has become light and spacious with lots of glass. We developed a unique support structure for the glass roof, which you hardly notice. And what you experience is light, space, and overview. The visitors don’t want to miss anything; they need to understand immediately which way to go, how big the museum is and how long they will need to see it. When they feel at home and at ease they will stay longer and love to come back.”

Although Hans van Heeswijk Architects also designs offices, housing renovations and bridges, the firm is best known for its public buildings. The Van Gogh Museum is the fifth and most recent museum project in the varied oeuvre of Amsterdam based Hans van Heeswijk Architects. The firm is especially praised for its transformation of former nursing home Amstelhof into Museum Hermitage Amsterdam (2009), awarded with the Dutch Building Award a.o. In 2014 the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis reopened after doubling its size with a largely subterranean extension. The project won the National Renovation Award, Gulden Feniks 2015. Previously, it designed the Graphic Design Museum in Breda (2008), now Museum of the Image, MOTI. June 2015 a new museum for Dutch Modern Realism MORE opened in Gorssel.