Prinsenhof Museum to be renovated
July 19, 2021
Necessary renovation
The historic Prinsenhof complex – a former monastery that served as the court of William of Orange, Prince of Orange, in the 16th century – is urgently in need of renovation and substantial maintenance, 70 years since significant work was carried out on the complex. The municipal investment of €18 million will serve to restore this national Top 100 listed building to sound condition and preserve it for future generations.
Enhancing the museum function and visitors’ experience
With the Vlek family’s donation of €10 million, Prinsenhof’s museum function will be guaranteed for the future, by, among other things, upgrading the quality of facilities for an improved museum layout, introducing centralised museum climate control and improving the use of available rooms, for example for educational purposes. With their donation, the family is also contributing to the enhancement of the experience of the areas in and around the building, including the garden.
An extraordinarily generous donation
The mayor and city council are extremely pleased about this ground-breaking development. “This positive decision enables us to renovate the museum after 70 years and to prepare it for the future. Prinsenhof as a national and international icon is closely associated with the evolution of the city and our country and it must be passed on to future generations in sound condition. Thanks to the extraordinarily generous donation by the Vlek family, we can now take the initial steps”, says Marja van Bijsterveldt, mayor of Delft. “For this, we are extraordinarily grateful to the Vlek family.”
Experienced design team
The architecture firm BiermanHenket has extensive experience in restoring and renovating listed buildings and museums. They restored or renovated the Anne Frank House and the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, for example, the museum Hof van Heeckeren in Zutphen and the Noordbrabants Museum in Den Bosch. All these buildings are listed buildings, like Prinsenhof. The architecture firm will head the design team. Plans call for a Preliminary Design by mid-2022 and a Definitive Design in early 2023. If execution begins in 2023, the project can be completed by late 2025.