The city council of Den Bosch approved the new construction plans for the Design Museum in the city on Tuesday evening. The museum will be rebuilt for more than 43 million euros just outside the city center, in the new Bossche Stadsdelta. It should be ready in 2030. The council agreed with the proposal to start planning for the new building and to make a design for the museum.
The city council of Den Bosch needed no less than four hours to reach a decision. The plans of alderman Mike van der Geld drew a lot of criticism from opposition parties. She called the new museum a prestige object and criticized the expected cost of 43 million euros.
The museum must be built near the Citadelhofje in Den Bosch. There are now 15 social rental homes that will almost certainly have to be demolished for the museum or for new houses on that site. The plan is to build at least 180 new homes in the area and probably also a parking garage. This has caused great unrest among the residents of the hofje. Just before the council meeting, a statement of support was handed over to the council by residents of the Citadelhofje entitled “Save the Citadelhofje”.
Success story
At the start of the city council meeting, the opposition proposed not to decide on the Design Museum on Tuesday evening, but to first make a plan for the entire area and only then see whether the current Design Museum can be sold. A number of parties cited the success story of the Design Museum. Since moving to the building next to the Noordbrabants Museum ten years ago, it has been very successful. Some parties consider it risky to end this success story.
New collection
The Noordbrabants Museum needs the current building of the Design Museum on De Mortel because it lacks space for the collection of the JK Art Foundation that it receives on loan. This is a special art collection with paintings by Rubens, Piet Mondrian and Dali. The museum will be loaned the collection for 25 years and can thus become one of the most important museums in the Netherlands, according to the municipality.
The Design Museum will be located in the new Stadsdelta Den Bosch. That is the area where the Binnendieze, the Zuid-Willemsvaart, De Dommel and the Aa come together. Three thousand homes, cultural organizations and commercial and non-professional organizations will be built around it, including the new museum.
Alderman Mike van der Geld wants to expand the city center with the Bossche Stadsdelta by building over the Dieze. The Diezeburg will be lowered to make it easier to access the newly developed area.
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