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National Museum of Photography Rotterdam
Holland Architectural Renovation Project design by Renner Hainke Wirth Zirn Architekten + WDJARCHITECTEN.
24 November 2024
Original design: architects J.P. Stok Wzn and J.J. Kanters
Renovation design: architects Renner Hainke Wirth Zirn Architekten, Hamburg and WDJARCHITECTEN
Location: Santos warehouse, Rijnhaven harbour, by the revitalised Katendrecht neighbourhood and Afrikaanderwijk, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
National Museum Of Photography
To Open In Transformed Historic Landmark In Rotterdam In 2025
Historic eight-storey warehouse to become state-of-the-art home for the Dutch national collection of over 6.5 million photographic images.
National Museum of Photography, Rotterdam – Santos Building
National Museum of Photography – front view:
photo © Photo Studio Hans Wilschut
National Museum of Photography Rotterdam Design
The National Museum of Photography – the nation’s centre for the display, conservation, collection and study of photography in the Netherlands – will move to a newly renovated warehouse in the heart of Rotterdam’s historic dock area. The building will provide a new state-of-the-art home for the national collection of over 6.5 million photographic images, one of the largest museum collections of photography in the world.
National Museum of Photography – semi-transparent ‘crown’ façade:
photo © Photo Studio Hans Wilschut
Opening in the second half of 2025, the monumental eight-storey building will include extensive exhibition spaces, a photography bookshop and library, an education centre, community spaces, a museum café, a darkroom for professional photographers and amateurs alike, and a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of the Rotterdam skyline.
National Museum of Photography – restored warehouse interior:
photo © Photo Studio Hans Wilschut
At the core of the building, a suite of new climate-controlled facilities will house the Museum’s collection and conservation centre. Glass walls will allow visitors to observe the collection and atelier spaces, with specialists working behind the scenes in areas such as restoration and conservation.
The acquisition of the new building fulfils the National Museum of Photography’s longstanding commitment to developing an accessible and dynamic meeting place and an international platform for Dutch photography.
Birgit Donker, Director, National Museum of Photography:
photo © Vincent Mentzel
Birgit Donker, Director of the National Museum of Photography, said:
“It is fantastic that we are in a position to realise our dream. A building of our own – a fully renovated historic building – where we can generously welcome visitors, with a central highlight on our invaluable collections and space for sharing visual stories and connecting people. This will be the place where photography is celebrated to the full, from amateur photos to art photography and all that comes with it.”
National Museum of Photography – atrium and central stairwell:
photo © Photo Studio Hans Wilschut
The National Museum of Photography is a global leader in photographic collection management and the protection of photographic archives. The work of the Museum, including its exhibitions and public programme, centres around its collection.
Santos Warehouse, Rotterdam
Designed by Architects J.P. Stok & J.J. Kanters
photo : Graafland (1917)
The collection presents an ever-growing record of Dutch photographic history, from the earliest daguerreotype dated 1842 to prints by some of the most exciting contemporary photographers, such as Dana Lixenberg, Erwin Olaf and Jaya Pelupessy. It includes one or more works by over 1,900 photographers. Setting the collection apart are more than 175 whole photography archives by renowned Dutch photographers such as Ed van der Elsken, Augusta Curiel, Cas Oorthuys and Esther Kroon, including a vast quantity of negatives and slides.
The new home for the National Museum of Photography, known as the Santos warehouse, is a Grade A listed building in the Rijnhaven harbour, situated on the border of the revitalised Katendrecht neighbourhood and the diverse Afrikaanderwijk. It is one of the best-preserved warehouses in the Netherlands.
Designed by architects J.P. Stok Wzn and J.J. Kanters, the building opened in 1903 as a warehouse for Brazilian coffee. In 2021, the German design department store group stilwerk restored and transformed the historic building. The renovation was designed by architects Renner Hainke Wirth Zirn Architekten, Hamburg and WDJARCHITECTEN, Rotterdam, and carried out by Leiden-based contractor Burgy.
Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography
Tupac Shakur, 1993:
photo © Dana Lixenberg (1964)
The acquisition of the new building for the National Museum of Photography has been made possible by a donation from the Droom en Daad Foundation, founded in 2016 and led by Wim Pijbes, former Director of the Rijksmuseum. The Droom en Daad Foundation is helping redefine Rotterdam for the 21st century – developing new kinds of arts and culture institutions and fostering new creative talent that reflects the city’s diversity, its spirit and its history.
The Museum was founded as the Nederlands Fotomuseum in 2003 following a bequest by Hein Wertheimer, a passionate amateur photographer who left 22 million Guilders (11.2 million Euros) to establish a museum for Dutch photography. The National Museum of Photography is one of 30 national museums in the Netherlands. Other national museums include the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
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National Museum of Photography:
photo © Photo Studio Hans Wilschut
An international authority in photography
The National Museum of Photography is the most important centre for the display, conservation, collection and study of photography from the Netherlands.
The Museum, which safeguards Dutch photographic heritage, is located in Rotterdam – the country’s second largest city. In the second half of 2025, the Museum will move to the Santos building, a newly renovated historic landmark in the heart of Rotterdam’s dock area. The building will provide a new state-of-the-art home for the national collection of over 6.5 million photographic images – one of the largest museum collections of photography in the world.
The Museum was founded as the Nederlands Fotomuseum in 2003 following a bequest by Hein Wertheimer, a passionate amateur photographer who left 22 million Guilders (11.2 million Euros) to establish a museum for Dutch photography. The National Museum of Photography is one of about 30 national museums in the Netherlands. Other national museums include the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. The move to the Santos building The move to the newly renovated Santos building enables the Museum to make its world-class collection more accessible. The Museum will be a place of discovery and offer a new way for visitors to experience the art and technique of photography, how it is made and why it matters.
The monumental eight-storey building will include extensive exhibition spaces, a photography bookshop and library open to everyone, an education centre, community spaces, a museum café, a darkroom for professional photographers and amateurs alike, and a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of the Rotterdam skyline.
At the core of the building, a suite of new climate-controlled facilities will house the Museum’s collection and conservation centre. Glass windows will allow visitors to observe the collection and atelier spaces, with specialists working behind the scenes in areas such as restoration and conservation.
The acquisition of the new building fulfils the National Museum of Photography’s longstanding commitment to developing a dynamic meeting place that is open to all and an international platform for Dutch photography. It has been made possible by a donation from the Droom en Daad Foundation.
South Moluccans, Tiel, 1970:
photo © Ed van der Elsken (1925-1990)
A global leader in photographic collection management
The National Museum of Photography is a global leader in photographic collection management and the protection of photographic archives. The work of the Museum, including its exhibitions and public programme, centres around its collection, which is an ever-growing record of Dutch photographic history. The Museum has amassed a unique collection over more than 25 years. It is estimated the collection will reach 7.5 million images by 2028.
The extensive collection covers Dutch photography, namely works by photographers residing and working in the Netherlands, with a focus on 20th-century analogue and documentary photography. The collection also includes contemporary photographic works, such as Jaya Pelupessy’s The Studio Sculptures and Anouk Kruithof’s installation Neutral (open hearted).
Saskia (Aged 8), 1995
From Mind of their Own, 1995
photo © Erwin Olaf (1959)
What sets the collection apart?
Setting the collection apart are more than 175 whole photography archives, including renowned Dutch photographers Ed van der Elsken, Cas Oorthuys and Esther Kroon, along with a vast quantity of negatives and slides. Notably, the collection also includes exceptional photography from the Netherlands’ former colonies, such as the work of Kassian Céphas, who photographed at the court of the sultan of Yogyakarta in the late 19th century, and Augusta Curiel, who operated a photography studio in Suriname a century ago.
Photography is an incredibly fragile medium and the crucial preservation of the photographic heritage of the Netherlands, from the earliest daguerreotype dated 1842 to contemporary digital prints, is a task the Museum will share with visitors through the now visible storerooms and dedicated workshops. Visitors will learn about the national collection, the specialised climate, new acquisitions and the variety of objects the Museum is responsible for such as negatives, prints, albums and cameras.
The Gallery of Honour exhibition will be reconfigured for the new building. The Gallery is the Museum’s permanent exhibition and presents a snapshot of photography in the Netherlands, from the invention of photography in 1839 to the present digital age. Featuring 99 distinctive photographs chosen for their social and artistic impact, the exhibition includes masterpieces by Anton Corbijn, Dana Lixenberg, Violette Cornelius, Paul Huf, Rineke Dijkstra and Erwin Olaf. The 100th work on display is chosen by visitors on a rotating basis.
About the Santos renovation
The new building for the National Museum of Photography, known as the Santos building, is a national monument in the Rijnhaven harbour, situated on the border of the revitalised Katendrecht neighbourhood and the diverse Afrikaanderwijk.
The Santos building is one of the best-preserved warehouses in the Netherlands. The interior is practically in original condition. As part of the renovation, the building’s original six storeys have been retained, with a cast-iron column structure, along with a large basement below the entire surface area of the building.
On the ground floor, a generous open-plan atrium has been created with a central stairwell running up through the building. Two new storeys have been added to the top of the old building, with the upper level enveloped by a semi-transparent ‘crown’ façade. The building’s open floor plan and closed façades with minimal daylight makes it ideal for showcasing and storing the Museum’s collection of photographs and light-sensitive photographic objects.
Leadership
Birgit Donker has been director of the National Museum of Photography in Rotterdam since November 2018. From 2012 to 2018 she was director of the Mondriaan Fund, the Dutch public fund for visual arts and cultural heritage. From 1991 to 2012 she was employed by NRC Handelsblad, where she worked as an art reporter, correspondent and the first female editor-in-chief of a Dutch national newspaper. Donker studied history and journalism in Amsterdam and in Paris. She has written several books, including ‘From grandmother’s cupboard. Heritage, a matter of choices and nurturing’ (2014).
Funding Credits
The National Museum of Photography is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Municipality of Rotterdam, and Cultuurfonds/Wertheimer Fund, as well as by public and private partners including the Droom en Daad Foundation, VriendenLoterij, and the Mondriaan Fund.
National Museum of Photography Rotterdam building renewal images / information received 231124
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Comments / photos for National Museum of Photography Rotterdam building design by architects J.P. Stok Wzn and J.J. Kanters page welcome.