AMO’s exhibition space for the stedelijk museum uses an ultra-thin steel display system

AMO — OMA’s research and design studio — has completed the new exhibition space for the stedelijk, amsterdam’s acclaimed modern and contemporary art museum. named stedelijk BASE, the redesigned lower level gallery will contain the institution’s permanent collection and provides an open-ended route through the artworks and design pieces dating from 1880 to the present. the renovated and extended stedelijk museum opened to the public in 2012.

all images by delfino sisto legnani and marco cappelletti © OMA

led by rem koolhaas, AMO developed a steel display system that uses very thin self-standing walls made of 15-millimeter-thick steel plates developed by tata steel netherlands. the laser cut plates have been coupled to ensure the stability required for the artworks. meanwhile, the thinness of the walls enables a flexible and open exhibition display, which maximizes available floor space. once installed, the works will be structured chronologically along the perimeter of the gallery space, and thematically on the steel walls which intersperse the gallery. each wall is devoted to a specific aspect of the collection.

stedelijk BASE is the new exhibition space foramsterdam’s modern and contemporary art museum

the configuration and layout allows visitors to choose their own route through the gallery, and make their own connections between art and design, modern and contemporary. ‘the exhibition responds to new ways of absorbing information,’ explains project architect, federico martelli. ‘viewers have become capable of focusing on many things at the same time, and the multiplicity of information in our environment stimulates our curiosity. while the organization of the exhibition responds to thorough research of the museum’s collection, it is not rigid: we have designed a landscape which allows visitors to discover associations between various artworks and objects.’

the redesigned lower level gallery will contain the institution’s permanent collection

‘in a productive collaboration with stedelijk, arup and tata steel, we have created walls like screens, thanks to the slimness of the steel structure,’ adds rem koolhaas. ‘these enable a lightness and flexibility in navigating the exhibition space, and encourage the viewer to take different paths in the space, as adventurous as circulation through any city.’ see designboom’s previous coverage of the stedelijk museum and its exhibitions here.

the layout provides an open-ended route through the collection of artworks and design pieces

AMO developed a steel display system that uses very thin self-standing walls

the partitions are made of 15-millimeter-thick steel plates

the thinness of the walls enables a flexible and open exhibition display

the laser cut plates have been coupled to ensure stability

once installed, the works will be structured chronologically

each wall will be devoted to a specific aspect of the collection

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status: completed
clients: stedelijk museum amsterdam location: amsterdam
site: museumplein 10, amsterdam
program: exhibition space; 1,340 sqm (14,424 sqf)
partner-in-charge: rem koolhaas
project architect: federico martelli
team: mario garcia, samir bantal

collaborators
project management: hans lentz – stedelijk museum amsterdam
material and production: tata steel nederland