Hermitage Amsterdam
The Hermitage Museum in Sint Petersburg has a collection of three million works of art, much more than can ever be shown there. Parts from the collection were first shown in the Nieuwe Kerk, a 16th century church in the heart of Amsterdam, and a venue for art from all over the world. After several successful exhibitions of Russian art, the idea was born to establish a satalite museum for the Hermitage Musuem in Sint Petersburg. Besides fine arts, this centre of Russian culture had to be home to concerts, symposiums, a library, a documentation centre and shops. Amstelhof, the building on the Amstel, that housed the Amsterdam elderly for more than 400 years, opened in 2009 as Hermitage Amsterdam. The visitor strolls from the entrance on the Amstel river through the courtyard to the east wing with its foyer, auditorium and restaurant. Even before the entrance ticket is bought, the building's true magnitude is revealed.
The garden wing is devoted for receiving the public and functions as a central meeting point in the building. It comprises a large auditorium, smaller halls for lectures and courses, a spacious shop and café-restaurant with a terrace on the garden side. This wing is open to the public who are not visiting the exhibition, also outside museum opening times. There is an entrance for groups arriving by coach via Weesperstraat, who enter the Hermitage Amsterdam via Nieuwe Keizersgracht. The rear side of the garden wing has a public terrace favourably situated - out of the wind and in the sun. Temporary exhibitions are being held in the two exhibition wings. They comprise of two large exhibition halls surrounded by cabinets. The former Neerlandia building on Nieuwe Herengracht, the first phase of the Hermitage Amsterdam, has become the Hermitage for Children.
Function | Museum |
Status | Realized |
Client |
Stichting Hermitage aan de Amstel |
Location |
Amsterdam |
Project architect |
Hans van Heeswijk |
Project team |
Leon Broeren, Maarten Emmelkamp, Jasper Felsch, Stephanie Haumann, Hans van Heeswijk, Werner Kamp, Rinke Kluwer, David Künzel, Tjeerd van de Sant, Erwin Schermer, Richard Teeling, Charlotte Trip |
Start |
2005 |
Completed |
2009 |
GFA |
14.000 m2 |