Rotterdam Reopening

edited by Sheila Kim -- Interior Design, 6/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Under renovation since 1999, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is now back in business. Belgian firm Robbrecht en Daem Architecten renovated part of the existing building and also designed a new wing. This three-story extension, which adds 53,800 square feet, houses the modern art collection, a library, a bookshop, and offices. Among the architectural highlights are a covered courtyard and an oak staircase styled after the main building's 17th-century original. The reopening show, "The Origin of Things," presents prototypes, drafts, and archival material related to design from the 19th and 20th centuries. Through July 27; 31-10-4419561; boijmans.nl.