HET NIEUWE INSTITUUT - THE NEW INSTITUTE

Also located in the Museumpark, the new institute is opposite the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum and next to the Chabot Museum. The building was designed in 1993 by the Dutch architect Jo Coenen. The space is impressive; surrounded by water and illuminated by the use of many windows. Metal and concrete form the key combination of the building's interior. The archives and collections housed in the building are much older than the institute itself. Access to the exhibitions is via a ramp located behind the reception area. The temporary exhibitions concern architecture, urban planning and all other disciplines related to and often linked with the city. The beautiful library is worth a visit for its impressive collection (to give an idea, it grows by 20 m per year) and also for the space itself, a kind of ship on two levels that seems to be enthroned on the water surrounding the institute. The view of the Museumpark is restful.

The highlight of the institute is the treasure trove of great works (realized and unrealized) of architecture in the Netherlands and of Dutch architects abroad. The space, with two long walls covered with plastic slats and including an island in the center, is intriguing. Of note, the new institute includes a specially designed area for children that introduces them to architecture in a very playful way.

The entrance ticket to the institute also allows you to visit the Sonneveld House (Huis Sonneveld) which is located at the corner of Jongkindstraat and Rochussenstraat (open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays and holidays from 11 am to 5 pm).

This outbuilding allows you to experience the life of a family who, in 1933, chose to live in an ultramodern house. The house was designed by the architects Brinkman and Van der Vlugt who had previously designed the Van Nelle tea, coffee and tobacco factory in Rotterdam. Mr. Sonneveld, Mr. Van der Leeuw, Mr. de Bruyn, the directors of the Van Nelle factory all had their residences designed by the factory's architects. It is impressive to realize how modern the house was for the time. The forms are pure, the furniture functional and always up to date, all the bathrooms are equipped with a shower and a bathtub and even the personnel were entitled to a very appreciable comfort.