The Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands is getting ready for a massive transformation. Having recently merged with three university institutes and seeing the annual number of visitors to the museum grow to 300.000, Naturalis has taken steps to enlarge and modernise its walls.
“The design for our new museum is ready” announces Naturalis. ” The current building has become too small. We have merged with three university institutes: the Zoological Museum Amsterdam and the National Herbarium of the Netherlands in Leiden and Wageningen. More than 400 people now work at Naturalis and our scientific collection contains 37 million objects currently spread over several buildings. Soon they will all be brought together in a single new building. That will yield many benefits in terms of both costs and opportunities for collaboration.“
The current museum building from 1998 will also be modernized. The existing building will form a single entity with the new building, both connected via an atrium that will form the main entrance of the new Naturalis Biodiversity Center. ” We will expand on the area next to our building towards the west and on the current staff parking lot. All museum galleries and public facilities, such as the restaurant and the shop, will be located in the new building. The depots for the collection and the offices will be located in the renovated building and the existing tower, which has been an icon in Leiden since its construction. A new wing will be added to the complex to house the research laboratory.”
Works will start at the end of 2015 and should be completed by mid-2018. The museum will grow from 4000 m2 to 6000 m2. From September 2016 the museum will temporarily be accommodated in the Pesthuis, the current entrance building of Naturalis. Plans are to realize a sustainable building with a garden above the parking garage in which biodiversity will play a leading role.
Stay informed about the new Naturalis: https://www.naturalis.nl/nl/over-ons/nieuws/Vernieuwing/het-ontwerp-van-ons-nieuwe-museum-klaar/