The new Van Abbemuseum is sited on the station road in Eindhoven. Its new location brings the museum into the empty heart of the city where, together with the Philips ED building, the Bijenkorf department store and the railway station, it breathes new life into the neglected east-west axis.

The museum's public functions can operate independently and gel both on the urban front and with the large exposition hall. The dynamism marking the floor plan at the lower levels gradually cedes to a more static, autonomous plan at the permanent exhibition space on the top floor. This latter space closely matches in size, lighting and spatial build-up the present Van Abbemuseum. The museum is a new synthesis of classic museum and modern, flexible show floor.

Its various public spaces are interlocked in such a way that the margins between them act as light catchers for the level below. Daylight is a principal motif for the overall design at every level. The margins skirting the façade comprise sundry diffuse areas that register on the exterior as a layered image of shifts or displacements. The façade and the roof do duty as a mega light catcher. In the evening the museum's image reverts to that of a beacon for the city.

With the volume scooped out from within, light and air pour into the heart of the design. This enclosed exterior space has its own character that contrasts with the city around it. Its renegade aspect finds expression in the uninterrupted progress it enjoys throughout the design, generating a string of seried spaces from the courtyard to the sculpture garden. The stepped development of the sequence of spaces does much to enhance the influx of daylight.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven
Specialization: architectuur
Tutors: Gerard van Zeijl, Ady Steketee & Bert Dirrix