In 1998 the Rijksmuseum (Dutch National Museum) in Amsterdam presented a Masterplan, in order to guarantee its future as a national treasury and cultural ‘visiting-card’. This Masterplan comprises a renovation where technical installations, facilities and the aesthetic and educational presentation are concerned, a new vision on the presentation of the permanent collections, the outplacement of depots and workshops, a new foyer, and the extension of the museum with new office space.

In the competition entry, Dam & Partners Architecten designed a spectacular main entrance in the middle aisle of the museum’s underpass. A monumental glass porch emphasizes the underpass at the north side. By way of the main entrance the visitor descends to the inner square of the museum. Here, the visitor is given access to the exhibition rooms, both on basement level and by way of escalators and foot-bridges. The square connects the two glass-roofed inner courts, which form part of the city’s public space. The eastern court is conceived as a public sculpture garden. The western court accommodates the ticket box and the museum shop. A new fore-court is added at the south side of the museum, with a grand café and underground exhibition space for the Asian art collections. The temporary exhibitions will take place in the south wing of the museum. The rooms in the Cuijpers building are exclusively reserved for exhibition purposes.