Glam in a concrete box

The Dutch Photo Museum - Nederlands Fotomuseum - opened its doors on April 18th 2007 at the Kop van Zuid pier in Rotterdam. The Photo Museum, situated in Las Palmas, formerly known as head-office for the Holland-America Line, measures 2.000 square meters. This means that the museum now has more than two times as much exhibition space, their own public facilities and the most modern photo repository of the Netherlands including a 4 millions negatives, slide, prints and digital photo collection. Furthermore there is plenty of space for educational activities, library and a knowledge centre.

BenthemCrouwel architects have renovated the building with preservation of the original appearance. The facade has gotten a new white look. The floors consist of endlessly looking spaces, interrupted by octagonal pillars. With the positioning of a number of entresols the floor surface of the building has increased with 450 square meters. The transitions between the different spaces have been made as fluidly as possible. In addition, the facilities of the three nearby cultural institutions in Las Palmas can easily be connected.

The Dutch Photo Museum got a new corporate identity. Ping-pong Design, graphic designers from Rotterdam, developed the new look. They made a powerful logo along with typography adding a filter over the dynamics and shimmering of the photos. The interior design was done by WAACS. Together with Ping-pong Design WAACS designed the first two expositions: Dutch Eyes, a new history of Dutch photography and Panorama Las Palmas.

(Photo Rob Hoekstra)