Architecture

Museum in the Dunes - Bergen aan Zee - NL

Graduation Project at Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture - 1996 - Honourable mention

This museum for contemporary sculpture is situated on a hilly open field in the village Bergen aan Zee on the Dutch North Sea shore. The surrounding dunes dominate the site.
A composition of straight lined volumes cuts into the undulating landscape. When approaching the museum from the main road on the east side, the concrete facades appear as bold retaining walls. The building is a tough bunker, confidently determining its position in the landscape. On the west side, however, it is disintegrating into the dunes: outer walls are twisted, floor and roof fragments seem to float and the separation between inside and outside falls apart. The interior sequence of spaces continues in the extensive outside sculpture garden.
Inside, a folded, continuous floor field leads the visitor across all exhibition spaces, its slopes referring to the surrounding relief. While the floors connect in colour and texture to the outside ground surface of sand and vegetation, the inner walls are white to form a neutral background for the exhibited sculptures. A system of sliding and folding walls is introduced to provide flexibility in the layout of the bigger exhibition spaces.
Part of the museum is intended to house temporary exhibitions and show work of artists in residence. For this purpose ateliers are situated to the south of the museum, simple wooden structures, each with its own specific position, spread out over the dune tops and hollows.