Canon Tower If the municipality of Arnhem and the Dutch province of Gelderland have their way, the new National Historic Museum will come to Arnhem. It will be situated on the Waterberg, opposite the National Heritage Museum, sharing a common square. Francine Houben of Mecanoo architecten designed the Canon Tower inspired by the national historic canon of the Netherlands. Mecanoo’s design merges future with past, futurism with tradition. The building consists of six stacked rings around a central conical sky lit atrium. The sculptural building will be of steel construction, but will be clad with traditional brickwork. It is an ode to Dutch building culture, incorporating the Dutch river clay of the landscape.
Upper Storey of the Netherlands Within the Canon Tower the history of the Netherlands is shaped with state of the art techniques. This is accomplished with not only artefacts, but also though multimedia displays. The 10.000 m2 museum building embodies and strengthens the museological concept. The National Historic Museum features fifty canon windows, divided amongst five rings. In the first ring, a sketch of Prehistory and Roman times is depicted, while the 20th century lies in the fifth ring from which one can gaze over the Netherlands of today. The floors differ in orientation from one another allowing views of the most significant artefacts and the dynamics of Dutch history through the ages. The sixth ring – the Upper Storey of the Netherlands – has a congress function and is equipped with an auditorium and a radio and television studio. Moreover, one has an exclusive view from the Upper Storey. Just over the treetops, one can see the historic building collection of the National Heritage Museum: a Delft windmill for grinding grain from 1700, a 1771 Gelderland farm, and an historic milk factory and bakery.
Corridor of your Ancestors The tower rises from a base sited directly on the square where there is a restaurant, multimedia centre, education room, rotating exhibition space, and museum shop. Optional is an underground corridor - the Corridor of your Ancestors – which runs from the National Historic Museum to HollandRama, located at the National Heritage Museum. This multimedia theatre has on view an interactive display about people who have moved from their hometown, regional or international, from the Frisians who moved to Amsterdam a century ago to Turks and Moroccans who came to the Netherlands in more recent times.