The new reception building of the Rubens House on Hopland will open on August 30. From then on, visitors can also walk in the fully commemorated Rubens Garden. It will then be in full bloom. The library of the Rubenianum will also open.
The completion of the new Rubens House is so well on schedule that the exact opening date has already been announced. The ribbon will be cut on the new building at Hopland on August 30. The festival program will be announced later. Visitors can now order tickets on the completely new website of the Rubenshuis.
READ ALSO. Architect Paul Robbrecht can boast of the Rubens House on his ‘Antwerp list of achievements’: “I don’t lose sleep over online criticism, we build for the long term”
Construction workers have started finishing and furnishing the seven floors. Most of the library cabinets that extend across all floors have now been installed. The wood cladding of the many stairs is also in the final phase. The move of approximately 2,000 running meters of books from the Rubenianum will be quite a job. But the intention is that the study center at Hopland will also restart on August 30. What is new is that one of the library’s four floors will be freely accessible to the general public, who can take books and magazines from the shelves themselves.
Digital
There is a beautiful view of the garden from the library. It has been replanted with more than 17,500 flowers and shrubs. Fashion designer Dries Van Noten provided color advice. The basement floor will house the Rubens Experience, which digitally immerses the viewer in the world of Rubens. That experience space will also be ready on August 30.
The redesigned garden with 17,000 plants. — © Joris Herregods
This completes the first phase of the master plan for the Rubenshuis site. The second phase involves the restoration of the historic artist’s home on Wapper and the Kolveniershof in Kolveniersstraat. Its opening is scheduled for 2030. Until then, visitors will be able to see Rubens’ art treasures that have already been temporarily displayed in the new building at Hopland.
Architect Paul Robbrecht at one of the baroque spiral staircases. — © Joris Herregods
Tags: Rubenshuis opens reception building garden August Antwerp
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