Renovation of the Maritime Museum
On 8 January 2007, the National Maritime Museum Amsterdam closed its doors for a major renovation. Upon completion, the refurbished Maritime Museum will be ready for the future. The museum will reopen in 2011.
In the years after the Museum first opened, the annual
number of visitors was around 40,000. At present, 200,000 people
visit each year. The layout and interior will have to change to
cope with this increase. Moreover, the Museum reckons the number of
visitors might double in the coming years. What museum visitors
want has also changed. They wish to make shorter visits and be able
to have a choice in what they want to see.
The building itself was also in need of renovation. The Maritime
Museum is the last national museum without climate control. High
time, therefore, to install such a system. 'The market has changed
radically', explains museum director Willem Bijleveld, 'and
different audience groups require different modes of presentation.
Particularly with young people, creating a vivid experience is the
key to success. If we don't change now, visitor numbers will
undoubtedly go down again in the coming years'.
And after 350 years, the building is certainly in need of a
facelift. After the reconstruction, visitors will first enter the
courtyard, where they can select an exhibition of their choice. The
layout will present different routes to different exhibitions, so
that visitors can choose how they want to experience maritime
history. One group may opt for an exhibition that centres on
specific objects, for example globes or paintings. Another group
will want to undergo history more directly, for example by actually
standing, as it were, in the Behouden Huys.
The courtyard, which will be given a glass roof supported by a
metal frame, is to become the heart of the museum. From there,
visitors can choose the way in which they wish to experience what
the museum has to offer. The shops, party rooms and catering
facilities can also be accessed directly from the courtyard.
During the renovation, the East Indiaman Amsterdam
will remain open to the public. It will, however, be towed to the
NEMO science
centre.