In 1928, city architect Ad van der Steur (1893-1953) began designing Boijmans Museum. Under the ledership of Director Dirk Hannema, seven years later, the new building was opened, on 6 July 1935. Each new director subsequently put his own stamp on the acquisition policy. And a new director often meant a new extension.

In 1972, 1991 and 2003, the museum building was extended with respectively a new exhibition wing by architect Alexander Bodon, a pavilion by Hubert-Jan Henket and new build by Robbrecht and Daem. While the museum is closed for a major renovation, the Depot opened its doors in 2021.

Architect Ad van der Steur’s design took its inspiration from Stockholm City Hall. The monumental entrance below the 60-metre-high tower gave the building the appearance of a temple of art. The building consisted of alternating galleries and cabinets – small collection rooms – around an inner and outer courtyard. Considerable attention was paid to the indirect lighting of the artworks.

The tower was there purely as an architectural element and contained workshops and storage space. Modern architects had little appreciation for the non-functional tower. But friend and foe alike were full of praise for the lighting of the art.

Van der Steur also designed the museum garden and the concluding monument to G.J. de Jongh. The museum, the garden and the monument together form a Gesamtkunstwerk, and the ensemble is now a national monument.

From the outset, an expansion to the building was taken into account. From 1944, Van der Steur worked on drawings for a new wing that extended to the corner of Westersingel. From 1963, architect Alexander Bodon worked on a design that responded to the existing museum in a contemporary way. Appropriately, the extension focused on temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.

The extension was a sober, clear building, with brick surfaces in keeping with Van der Steur’s traditionalist architecture. The skylights on the first floor were also continued. But with its crisp white interior and its openness towards the street and garden, it looked much more modern. And there was a new entrance, curiously enough all the way to the side. This was because there was still a plan to build an extension as far as Westersingel.

A separate building section was built especially for the Van Beuningen-De Vriese applied-art collection. Architect Hubert-Jan Henket (1940) designed a modern pavilion of glass and steel in the museum garden. Temporary exhibitions of modern design were planned in the upper room, while the permanent collection of archaeological finds was given a place in the basement. It was very much to the liking of director Wim Crouwel, a graphic designer with his roots in modernism.

The pavilion contrasted with the original’s closed and traditional architecture from the existing building. However, it did align with its symmetry.  Because of its openness and slightly elevated position, it provided a beautiful view of the gardens and the new Museumpark. Soon, new director Chris Dercon was using the pavilion as a restaurant. The pavilion is now one of the youngest national monuments in the Netherlands.

The museum’s ambition to extend to Westersingel finally took shape with the design by the Ghent-based architect couple Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem. Director Chris Dercon had a different of opinion about what an art museum is; in his view, it should also be a centre of knowledge. A library, more exhibition space, a larger museum shop and new offices were envisaged to enrich the museum. It was a complicated task characterized by a lack of money and issues with contractors.

The new build enveloped Bodon’s building, which disappeared completely from view as a result. At the same time, the new build did reconnect the different building sections. With its minimalist design, careful detailing and use of materials – clean concrete and greenish glass panels – austerity and simplicity prevail. The 1991 entrance disappeared and a new entrance was created via the monumental courtyard. This was made publicly accessible and acted also as a sculpture garden.

Under director Sjarel Ex, problems with the museum’s basement depot became acute. In 2019 the museum closed its doors, and an extensive operation to make the building asbestos-free began. This was the prelude to a major renovation of the museum. After a selection process, three firms developed a vision for the museum’s renovation and renewal in 2019: KAAN Architecten with Van Hoogevest Architecten, Mecanoo architects, as well as the collaboration between David Chipperfield Architects and WDJArchitecten.

In early 2020, the city commissioned Mecanoo to develop their vision further into an initial design. After an intensive period of talks between the museum, the City of Rotterdam and the architectural firm, it a long time uncertain what the plans will yield. In 2025, the final renovation plan is approved, which improves logistics, covers the inner courtyard, and restores the buildings by Van der Steur, Bodon, and Henket, and makes them more sustainable.

Since the closure in 2019, the only constant over all these years has been the intended demolition of the most recent building, the extension by Robbrecht and Daem from 2003. This does not align with the city’s sustainability ambitions, and above all: every part of the museum tells a story about the time in which it was created, its architecture and what the ideas were for exhibiting art.