Aldo Rossi (1931-1997)

Aldo Rossi was an Italian Architect

and Designer.

He studied and Practiced architecture

at the Polytechnic University of
Milan, Italy.

He’s well known for re-designing the

Bonnefanten Museum of Fine Arts
and History for which he was
Awarded the “Pritzker Architecture
Prize “ in 1998.
Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht,
Netherlands
Bonnefanten Museum
The museum originally built in 1884 was a
Historical and Archaeological museum.

From 1950s to the late 1970’s it served as a

Nursing Home and Children’s school which
gave the name ‘BONNEFANTEN’.

The New building was moved to Maastricht, in

1989.

Construction completed in 1995 and since 1999

its an exclusive museum of fine arts and a
prominent building in Maastricht.
Treppenstraße
Building Layout
The museum is built in an E – Shape.

Four Storied building with a separate and

distinctive Rocket Shaped Tower facing the
river Mass.

The Plan of the building is in a Two Way symm-

etrical layout with the tower at the bottom
center.

The Tower serves as a mini exhibition space

as well as a look-out point.

The Skylights on the three elongated sections

lighten up each of the interior lobbies .
Materials

Building is constructed with traditional materials such as brick, natural stone and zinc
alloy metal plates around a solid steel and concrete structure.

The bricks are left with their native bright red colors.

The Tower and its pointed dome are entirely made of concrete.

The Inner façades of the building consists of glazed curtain walls with a greenish tint.

Flooring is mainly of polished stone and Wood.

Natural Lighting
Sunlight plays a major role in lighting up the main and
central lobbies of the building.

Sunlight enters through the long skylights and lightens up

the central staircases (Treppenstraße ) in all three sections
of the museum as well as the Central Exhibition space on
the second floor.

The Placement of the Glass Facades adds to the

element
of Contrast Lighting which dominates the building.

The façades at the front and sides are shut,

The façades of the central wing, which forms
the axis of the building, are open.
The inside of the building is constructed of
traditional materials, like

brick

natural stone and zinc,

skeleton of concrete and steel.

 the floors are mainly made of wood.

the most natural factor of all is the daylight, as the central

staircase is actually a covered street, where you feel almost
as if you were outdoors.

On the second floor, the daylight interacts with the works of

art
Most of the public areas are situated on the ground floor:
the entrance hall, museum shop, auditorium, café and tower
room.

The museum galleries are higher up; collection on the first

floor and temporary exhibitions on the second and third
floors.

At the top of the central wing is a 'print room'.

The exhibition space totals over 4,000 m².

The main entrance for the museum is tucked away at the back of the
building. The visitor is forced to walk around the museum facade to
pass through a steel door that bears the generic label "Museum.“

The slight detour from the scenic riverside path to the rear of the
building helps to build expectation, and once inside, the soaring four-
storey high ceiling and luminous space make a good first impression.

A circular opening or oculus in the roof allows natural light to accent

the stone and brick walls,
One of the most challenging aspects of the Bonnefanten interior layout is the
large, steep staircase that bisects the building and leads to the exhibition halls.

Visitors are required to climb and choose a route for exploring the galleries,
turning either right or left from the central steps.

The galleries extending on either side of the stairs are dead-end streets that
force you to retrace your steps, viewing displays twice as you come and go.

The awkwardness of the spatial arrangement is rather annoying for gallery-

goers who are used to a circular flow-through in modern museums, but the
intent is to slow the viewer down and encourage a lingering gaze rather than a
quick take.