Interior KMSK Antwerpen

The renovation scheme for this greatly outdated museum provides an overall plan to cover its acute shortage of space, to enable the integration of modern equipment and to improve its functional setup. The main aims of the plan are to restore the original structure, to add a glass roof and to add an underground auditorium in the entrance area. Covering the skylights and domes with a transparent roof results in a new, usable roof landscape that is roomy enough to also accommodate the modern equipment. The patios, at one time covered with floors to gain space, are opened up again and now daylight enters the building like before. Footbridges and stairs lend access to new floor surfaces that are suspended in the space to create playful features. Due to these, the patios are now available for thematic and temporary exhibitions. The old building's period halls are reserved for the museum collection.In the entrance area, the stairs are moved slightly outwards to generate space for the underground auditorium. To open up the museum, stairs are added on the left and right between the double collonade directly beyond the main entrance. This way, the foyer retains its monumental, spacious splendour.