The National Heritage Museum is an open air museum, founded at the beginning of the twentieth century to preserve memories of rural culture and traditional crafts in Holland. In niches in the wooded countryside outside Arnhem, completely furnished farmhouses, shops and workshops from different parts of the country have been brought together.
A visit is certainly educational, but today it has to be an attraction as well. To achieve this broader concept a new exhibition building was needed to display the splendid collection, making the museum less dependent on fair weather. With this in mind, Mecanoo has viewed its task as twofold – to provide practical facilities, while also appealing to the public’s imagination.
Status: Built
Location: Arnhem, NL
Additional Credits: programme
Entrance building with museum and ‘HollandRama’, a 3,185 m2 panoramic theatre
client
Rijksgebouwendienst Directie Oost; Nederlands Openluchtmuseum
project address
Schelmseweg 89, Arnhem, Netherlands
design
1995 -1998
realization
1999 -2000
awards
2001, Nomination Wood Prize
Wood Centre, Almere
2003, Dutch Building Prize
Dutch Building Prize Foundation
2000, ‘TECU’ Architecture Award
KM Europa Metal Aktiengesellschaft Osnabrück, Germany
