Il nuovo look del Royal Museum of Fine Arts di Anversa

11 Aprile 2021

Vincitore del concorso internazionale indetto nel 2003 per la ristrutturazione e l'ampliamento del Royal Museum of Fine Arts di Anversa, lo studio di architettura olandese KAAN Architecten ha ultimato la fase principale del complesso intervento. Tra i più audaci esempi di architettura neoclassica presenti in città, il museo vanta una collezione artistica che abbraccia sette secoli, estendendosi dalle opere degli autori fiamminghi del XV secolo fino a produzioni del Novecento. Pieter Bruegel, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacques Jordaens, Jacques-Louis David, Auguste Rodin, James Ensor, Paul Gauguin, Ferdinand Khnopff, Henry Moore, Paul Delvaux, René Magritte, Marcel Broodthaers, Jan Fabre sono tra gli artisti presenti nella collezione. Grazie a un investimento pari a circa 100 milioni di euro, sostenuto dal governo fiammingo, il Royal Museum of Fine Arts di Anversa si appresta a svelare ai visitatori un aspetto rinnovato e nello stesso tempo fedele al carattere monumentale della struttura storica. A confermarlo è una delle "scelte forti" di KAAN Architecten: i progettisti hanno deciso di "celare" l'ampliamento del museo all'interno dei volumi esistenti, senza che la nuova aggiunta risulti visibile dall'esterno.

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. The Rubens hall will host some of the highlights of the collection and is therefore positioned at the very core of the building © Sebastian van Damme
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. The circular staircase seen from the ground floor, the mosaic on the floor is a contemporary interpretation of the original one located in the entrance hall, right above © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. 19th-century museum – “While visiting the historical museum, guests walk through an enfilade of exhibition rooms tinted in dark pink, green and red” © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. Extra-large paintings travel from the depot through an original 19th-century hatch to the upper floors. From this position and following a specific route, a track of slender vertical hatches can bring the paintings to the contiguous halls © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. 21st-century exhibition hall and its impressive height, measuring up to 23 meters floor-to-ceiling © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. A detail of the monumental staircase in the 21st-century museum © Sebastian van Damme
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. One of the lightwells as seen from the first level © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. The lightwell as seen from the dark cabinets, this space will be dedicated to the display of delicate artworks © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. The dark cabinets exhibition space, part of the 21st-century museum © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. “At the first floor, large windows visually connect the bright yet modest interiors with the surroundings” © Stijn Bollaert
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Anversa by KAAN Architecten. The front museum façade. The extension of the museum is completely concealed within its existing inner structure. From above, the H-shaped structure of the 21st-century museum emerges, built on the position of the four original patios © Mediamixer