The Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam

The Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) is more than a museum of architecture. It is a above all a cultural institute which is open to the public and which uses a variety of methods for communicating about the shaping of human space.

The NAI moved into its present premises in 1993. The striking building, is situated at the edge of the Museumpark in the heart of Rotterdam and was designed by Jo Coenen. Seen from the outside, the building consists of four distinct volumes: the lobby with the foyer and the auditorium, the exhibition wing, the archives, and the library with the offices above it.

The NAI Open Model Storage in the Van Nelle Design Factory, Rotterdam, houses 400 important models from the NAI State Collection. It will be open at fixed times on the last Sunday of the month to all who are interested in seeing architectural models made by famous designers such as Koolhaas, Coenen and Van Eyck.

Model Collection

The NAI Model Collection is part of a wider collection that also includes architects' archives, objects, books, periodicals and photos. By preserving such documents and archives, the NAI acts as a national memory bank of Dutch architecture and planning from the nineteenth century to today.

NAI Open Model Storage

The NAI Open Model Storage houses 400 important models from the NAI Model Collection. The NAI Open Model Storage will be open to visitors on the last Sunday of every month at fixed times (tours starting at 12.00 and 13.00, with a maximum of 10 people per tour group). This is a rare opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes of a museum storage facility. The architecture firm Van den Broek en Bakema has designed the Open Model Storage, which takes the form of an climate-controlled, orange-coloured box with a floor area of 600 m2.

From Van Eyck to Koolhaas

The storage facility preserves models of various kinds: scale models, presentation models and documentary models in a wide range of materials such as wood, plastic, plaster, paper, cardboard and steel. Among the most prized items in the collection are the design of Two Libraries for Jussieu, France, by Rem Koolhaas, the Amsterdam KNSM Island Scheme by Jo Coenen, the Amsterdam Van Goghmuseum extension by Kisho Kurokawa and the design for Noord-Oostpolder by Aldo van Eyck.

Location
NAI Open Model StorageVan Nelle Design Factory,

Schiehal AVan Nelleweg 1Postbus 237NL-3000 AE

RotterdamPhone: +31 [0]10 4401200 (NAI)
Opening times
January 28 2007, February 25 2007, March 25 2007, April 29 2007, May 27 2007Guided Tours at 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00Admission: € 7,50 per person

More about the guided tours

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