Stedelijk Museum, designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects, Amsterdam

Stedelijk contemporary art museum reopened in Amsterdam this week after a major renovation and expansion, and a near nine-year closure. Dubbed 'the Bathtub' by locals, it seems ideally shaped to carry on the popular tradition of nicknaming extraordinary modern structures after ordinary household items.

Designed by Mels Crouwel of of Amsterdam architecture practice Benthem Crouwel, the sleek, 10,000sq m synthetic-fibre extension succeeds in accomplishing what architect AW Weissman's original Victorian-era red-brick building increasingly could not. It provides vaulted, spacious galleries, one of which is the largest in the Netherlands, and streamlines movement between them via a 'tube' of escalators that allows visitors to bypass the crowded administrative areas between exhibits.

The new structure incorporates a restaurant with a terrace and a sunken library. And it pivots the museum's foyer toward the green of the Museumplein - also home to the Van Gogh museum and Rijksmuseum - rather than to the noisy, tram-packed street.

Stedelijk's new glass foyer features the museum's latest purchase, Richard Serra's steel-plate 'Sight Point (for Leo Castelli)'.

The white tub, composed of a record 271 panels of Twaron aramid fibre and Tenax carbon fibre, is likely to become a new icon even in Amsterdam, a city in which contemporary monuments debut almost monthly. But it does nothing to obscure the original building, whose grand entry hall and statement staircase are still highlights of the Stedelijk experience. The traditional building will house the museum's permanent collection of 90,000 objects dating from the 1870s; new acquisitions include Marlene Dumas's controversial 'Osama' and Luc Tuymans's 'HM'.

Temporary exhibitions will launch in the new annex, starting this week with 'Beyond Imagination', a tribute to contemporary Dutch art featuring home-grown working artists.

Designed by Mels Crouwel — The sleek, 10,000sq m synthetic-fibre extension was designed by Mels Crouwel of Amsterdam architects Benthem Crouwel

Entrance — The museum's entrance hall used to face the busy street. Crouwel pivoted it, so that it is now oriented toward the green Museumplein

Museumplein is also home to the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum

Designed by AW Weissman — The new wing, though iconic, does nothing to obscure the original building, which was designed by AW Weissman in 1895

Staircase — The original building's grand central staircase is still a highlight

Building entrance — Crouwel has designed smooth transitions between the old and new spaces...

Escalator — ... including a pair of escalators that travel through a tube between exhibits, allowing visitors to avoid the crowded administrative areas

The escalators bypass the foyer, transporting visitors from the vast sunken gallery to the upper floors

In the new space are a main-floor restaurant and terrace

New galleries — One of the new galleries is the largest in the Netherlands

Restaurant space — A 1956 mural by Karel Appel now covers the wall of the former restaurant space

The bathtub — The glass-walled entry hall is beneath what locals in Amsterdam are calling 'the bathtub'

Staircases in the new wing have no risers, to keep sightlines open

Outside, the stark contrast between the two wings, nearly 120 years apart, belies the easy transitions inside

Original galleries — The original galleries were whitewashed before the renovation, though all the heritage details were preserved

ADDRESS

Museumplein 10
Amsterdam

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Based in London, Ellen Himelfarb travels widely for her reports on architecture and design. Her words appear in The Times, The Telegraph, The World of Interiors, and The Globe and Mail in her native Canada. She has worked with Wallpaper* since 2006.