Location: Zwolle, Netherlands.

Architect: Bierman Henket Architecten.

Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle has been extended with a new volume on the roof of the former Palace of Justice. The courthouse was designed in 1938 in the neo-classical style and became a link between two distinct worlds: a mediaeval, fortified city and a 19th century park. The building ceased to function as a Palace of Justice in 1977 and was converted into offices before becoming the home of Museum De Fundatie in 2005. The museum has an extraordinary collection including works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Mondrian. Under Ralph Keuning’s directorship, temporary exhibitions became so successful that extension of the museum became unavoidable. Bierman Henket architecten designed the extension in 2010, with an autonomous volume on top of the monumental building. The superstructure is symmetrical in two directions and resembles a rugby ball. The extension is clad with 55,000 three-dimensional ceramic elements produced by Koninklijke Tichelaar in Makkum. The mixed blue-and-white glazed tiles form a subtle surface which merges into the heavens. With the extension, the original central entrance hall has been carried through as an atrium where the two museological worlds converge. A glass lift in the atrium conveys visitors to the various floors. The stairways are located on the outer part of the floors. In the old building they are stately and straight, in the new development they are flowingly curved. With its aim of presenting contemporary and old art in one building, Museum De Fundatie now has a new, truly-unique identity.

Photo credit: Joep Jacobs.