Escher Museum

No doubt about it – the Escher Museum is our dream project, in more ways than one. On the one hand, it’s a rare opportunity to create an iconic new museum complex for the city of The Hague, with a vibrant programme that includes a boutique hotel, bars and restaurants. On the other hand, it means combining the work of two great creative minds of the 20th century, the graphic artist M.C. Escher and the designer and architect Marcel Breuer, in one remarkable experience.

In fact, the building seems to have been designed for Escher’s art. The façade, with its repeating trapezoidal pattern, is very Escherian. So much so, that we felt there was no need to interfere with Breuer’s magnificent design. Instead, our transformation consists of adding an extra layer – a transparent double-height crown, with ‘floating’ white boxes for gallery functions. By day, this new layer subtly echoes the original building with its pattern of trapezoidal glass panels. At night, it forms a bright and luminous crown.

Apart from the glass roof section, our main intervention in Breuer’s building is to cover the open courtyard with a glass box, making it weatherproof and bringing it under the wing of the museum, and to add the circular void and giant mirror ball to reflect the surroundings and the basement below. The Escher Garden adds another outdoor experience to the programme.

Apart from these interventions, our aim is to restore the building to its former glory, including the monumental library (which in our plan will house the ticket office and museum shop) and the auditorium, where visitors will find the (new) lift and be able to watch films about Escher’s life and work. We use the two existing entrances to help define the programme, the one on the Korte Voorhout for the museum and the one on the Lange Voorhout for the hotel.