Mecanoo’s design for the renovation of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam has taken a decisive step towards realisation. After three months of intensive work with our client, the Municipality of Rotterdam, together with the museum and the contractors, the tender has been given the green light. Construction consortium J.P. van Eesteren & Dura Vermeer and installation contractor Koninklijke Kuijpers will now carry out the works.
In 2020, Mecanoo was selected to lead the restoration and renovation of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Since then, we have worked closely with the Municipality of Rotterdam and the museum, and in December 2025, Rotterdam City Council approved the Final Design.
A complex market and higher than expected costs raised new questions and called for a careful review. Over the past three months, we worked intensively together to make the project financially viable. We examined every part of the plan and the budget again, leading to a series of optimisations, and analysed the working method to further reduce risks. The result is a plan that retains as much as possible of the quality and ambitions of our Final Design, with the design itself remaining intact.
Throughout this process, the museum advised on the feasibility of the proposed improvements and savings. Five principles set out in the Final Design remain central: restoring the historic building sections by Van der Steur, Bodon and Henket; creating a welcoming new main entrance; improving operational logistics; enhancing visitor circulation; and strengthening the museum’s connection with the city and the Museumpark.
From design to construction
From the end of October, we will work with the contractors, consultants, the Municipality of Rotterdam and the museum to develop our design in technical detail, alongside the construction schedule and site logistics. Construction will begin once this phase is complete.
Francine Houben, Founding Partner/Creative Director at Mecanoo: “Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is an icon of Rotterdam. With our design, we cherish the rich history of the museum and its beautiful collection, and give it a new future: accessible and welcoming to everyone. I am absolutely delighted that we are now going to bring these plans to life.”
Reopening in 2030
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is expected to reopen at the end of 2030, welcoming everyone from Rotterdam and far beyond into a lively monumental building that is accessible to all. The museum will once again be the place to see its exceptionally diverse collection, from the early Middle Ages to contemporary art, with a programme that invites visitors to experience art in their own way. Together with its sculpture garden, it will become a place where people of all generations and cultural backgrounds feel welcome, and want to return.
Read the full press release from the Municipality of Rotterdam.