The Mauritshuis

A new impulse for one of the most elegant museums in Europe

> Exceptional museum architecture in a historical context

The Mauritshuis is small but opulent, majestic yet intimate, and is considered by many as the most beautiful museum in the Netherlands. Originally designed as a residence, the ever growing number of visitors pushed an urgent need to expand without compromising the delicate building or the historic urban context. This posed an extremely complex design challenge to the architect of the transformation, Hans van Heeswijk.

Inspired by examples such as I. M. Pei’s famous renovation of the Louvre in Paris, and Apple’s flagship store in New York, Van Heeswijk opted to go literally underground to create new space for the museum’s many visitors. This solution also connects the existing Mauritshuis with an extension in the former clubhouse building called ‘Plein 26’, across the street, which was built in the Art Deco style. With this intervention, the logistical problems of the busy, heavily-trafficked museum have been resolved, and it also creates a clear and inviting image. This book focuses on how the extension was approached, and places the design in the context of recent international museum architecture. It also sketches the history of a luxurious seventeenth-century urban palace that has developed into one of the most elegant museums in Europe.