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MAD Architects tops Fenix, a Rotterdam museum, with a reflective, metallic staircase
A new architecturally expressive, adaptive reuse project has been completed at Katendrecht, a historic Rotterdam port neighborhood. MAD Architects is behind the design for Fenix, an art institution founded in 2016 that centers migration. The venue is contextual: Rotterdam is today home to over 170 nationalities, thanks in part to its status as a port city.
Fenix is sited inside an old warehouse from 1923 by architect Cornelis Nicolaas van Goor. The former San Francisco Warehouse was bombed during World War II, but rebuilt in the 1950s as two separate buildings: Fenix I and Fenix II.
MAD Architects transformed the Fenix II building into the museum. The 172,000-square-foot hub marks the first major culture project in Europe by the international office. The ground floor was conceived as an indoor city square, the architects said.
The venue is sited in Katendrecht, a historic Rotterdam port neighborhood.Fenix offers space for connection and exchange for communities all throughout Rotterdam, the museum said. The ground level will host large scale events, food gatherings, community meetings, performances, and also a kiosk with newspapers from around the world, much like the former Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Likewise, Fenix has retail and dining options like cafes, bakeries, gelato and espresso bars. The multivalent artworks are spread throughout Fenix’s upper levels.
Ground level view of the double-helix stairRooftop view of the double-helix stairAmong Fenix’s standout features is what MAD calls the Tornado, a double-helix staircase connecting visitors from the ground to a viewing platform high up above the city. This amenity affords views of the River Maas, Hotel New York, and former headquarters of the Holland America Line. Its metallic exterior reflects the buildings and people around it, and glimmers in the sun.
The gallery walls were left untouched, revealing exposed concrete. Exhibition materials are staged in this industrial context, set up on partitions, or hung from ceilings. The building contains more than 150 artworks by Francis Alÿs, Max Beckmann, Sophie Calle, Honoré Daumier, and many others. Narrow windows draw natural light into the galleries.
Tall ceiling heights allow for large artworks, like this one by Alle Richtingen.The Family of Migrants installation viewThe ephemera on view speaks to the peripatetic migratory experience: Personal mementos from people who immigrated to Rotterdam, a sliver of the Berlin Wall, a migrant boat from Lampedusa, and a passport from Nansen circa 1923, to name but a few examples. There are also travel documents issued to stateless refugees after World War I.
Geographies by Francis Alÿs“Migration stories are the heartbeat of Fenix,” museum director Anne Kremers said in a statement. “We’ve woven them into every element—whether it’s the magic of Ma Yansong’s architecture, the memories evoked by the artworks on display, the freely accessible Plein, or the gelateria by the Granucci family. We want everyone to feel welcome.”
#mad #architects #tops #fenix #rotterdam
MAD Architects tops Fenix, a Rotterdam museum, with a reflective, metallic staircase
A new architecturally expressive, adaptive reuse project has been completed at Katendrecht, a historic Rotterdam port neighborhood. MAD Architects is behind the design for Fenix, an art institution founded in 2016 that centers migration. The venue is contextual: Rotterdam is today home to over 170 nationalities, thanks in part to its status as a port city.
Fenix is sited inside an old warehouse from 1923 by architect Cornelis Nicolaas van Goor. The former San Francisco Warehouse was bombed during World War II, but rebuilt in the 1950s as two separate buildings: Fenix I and Fenix II.
MAD Architects transformed the Fenix II building into the museum. The 172,000-square-foot hub marks the first major culture project in Europe by the international office. The ground floor was conceived as an indoor city square, the architects said.
The venue is sited in Katendrecht, a historic Rotterdam port neighborhood.Fenix offers space for connection and exchange for communities all throughout Rotterdam, the museum said. The ground level will host large scale events, food gatherings, community meetings, performances, and also a kiosk with newspapers from around the world, much like the former Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Likewise, Fenix has retail and dining options like cafes, bakeries, gelato and espresso bars. The multivalent artworks are spread throughout Fenix’s upper levels.
Ground level view of the double-helix stairRooftop view of the double-helix stairAmong Fenix’s standout features is what MAD calls the Tornado, a double-helix staircase connecting visitors from the ground to a viewing platform high up above the city. This amenity affords views of the River Maas, Hotel New York, and former headquarters of the Holland America Line. Its metallic exterior reflects the buildings and people around it, and glimmers in the sun.
The gallery walls were left untouched, revealing exposed concrete. Exhibition materials are staged in this industrial context, set up on partitions, or hung from ceilings. The building contains more than 150 artworks by Francis Alÿs, Max Beckmann, Sophie Calle, Honoré Daumier, and many others. Narrow windows draw natural light into the galleries.
Tall ceiling heights allow for large artworks, like this one by Alle Richtingen.The Family of Migrants installation viewThe ephemera on view speaks to the peripatetic migratory experience: Personal mementos from people who immigrated to Rotterdam, a sliver of the Berlin Wall, a migrant boat from Lampedusa, and a passport from Nansen circa 1923, to name but a few examples. There are also travel documents issued to stateless refugees after World War I.
Geographies by Francis Alÿs“Migration stories are the heartbeat of Fenix,” museum director Anne Kremers said in a statement. “We’ve woven them into every element—whether it’s the magic of Ma Yansong’s architecture, the memories evoked by the artworks on display, the freely accessible Plein, or the gelateria by the Granucci family. We want everyone to feel welcome.”
#mad #architects #tops #fenix #rotterdam
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