Preliminary design Prinsenhof ready

The preliminary design for the monumental Prinsenhof, containing Museum Prinsenhof Delft, is ready. It will be an attractive and contemporary museum with enhancement of its monumental character. The museum will have a new entrance and become more accessible. It opens up to the outside, allowing daylight in and views of the monument and the city. The national monumental complex will also be preserved and given a high-quality museum environment.

Power of the monument 
Full advantage has been taken of the power of the monument. That already starts at the Oude Delft. There, people are made curious about the museum. Walking along the Oude Delft soon, you will see the beautifully lit old ceilings through the windows and catch your first glimpse of the museum. The museum's new entrance will be at the Prinsentuin. The route through the garden will soon give a nice view of the monumental facades of the former convent. You enter the heart of the complex in a beautiful space, which gives a good first impression of what is to come during your visit to the museum. Shutters are opened and the exhibition partitions in front of the windows are removed. This allows daylight back into the museum spaces and enhances the monument: light in and views out. Not all art tolerates daylight. The places where light is desired and where there are nice views to the outside are therefore carefully chosen.

Better accessibility 
The museum will soon be much more accessible, including for people with physical disabilities. Now there are more than thirty different levels on the ground floor alone. A new staircase and lift were therefore designed in the courtyard, connecting the floors in the building. Ramps bridge the small level differences.

To the left of the new entrance to the Prince's Garden, the twentieth-century connecting corridor will be demolished and rebuilt, reusing the old materials as much as possible. This is necessary to eliminate the current level differences and make a good connection. Following on from this will be the entrance to the museum café with terrace at the Prince's Garden.

Better climate
Part of the plan is to improve the museum climate of the exhibition rooms. The high-quality museum climate allows for the future creation of exhibitions with high-quality loans.

Sustainable
The monumental complex will be made more sustainable: it will be insulated where possible, rear windows will be added and sustainable materials will be used as much as possible. The building will be gasless and equipped with sustainable installations, including heat pumps. Materials released during renovation will be reused as much as possible.

BiermanHenket leads the design team that also includes Huisman & Van Muijen (installation consultancy), Peutz (building physics & fire safety), ABT (structures) and Bremen Bouwadviseurs (construction cost consultancy). The preliminary design is now limited to the monument with the museum inside it. The landscape architect joins the design team in late 2022.