Every year the second weekend of September is Open Monument Day. Today and tomorrow, fifty monuments will open their doors to the public. AT5 visited the private home of the flamboyant Frans Haks.
The Medini House is located at Recht Boomssloot 41. As far as we know, it is the only interior in the Netherlands by the Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, except of course the Groninger Museum. Alessandro Mendini also designed the house for his good friend, Frans Haks. Haks was from 1978 to 1995 director of the Groninger Museum.
Interested parties are allowed to enter in groups of nine and receive a short tour of the ground floor, which is approximately 75 square meters. The leading role is a bathtub sunk into the floor, where Haks often received his guests, seated in the bathtub, which is located in the middle of the living room. The neighbors regularly complained about the naked men visible through the large windows.
Frans Haks died in 2006. An American couple now lives there, who opened the house to the public for Open Monument Day.
Curious about even more special monuments? It is also possible to visit several buildings for free on Sunday. View the program here.