Maritime Museum

Antwerp has an extensive and diverse collection of maritime heritage. To share this heritage with the general public, a new Maritime Museum is being constructed on the dry-dock site in the north of the city. 

This area bears witness to the history of Antwerp as a city of shipowners and maritime traffic; its prime location means it serves as a hub between the city, the old port, and the new port. The ambition is to bring the collections of valuable museum artefacts and stories of Antwerp’s maritime history into one unique location and leverage this to develop a new area of the city. A rather unique place and a vital link at different levels in the city, both between the historical Old Town and the vast harbour. But also at the level of the site itself and its position within the development of the Eilandje area. 
 

We regard the Kattendijkdok as a strategic space, a new waterside square that offers opportunities to rediscover and enjoy urban life by the water. It brings an exciting, new area to the existing public domain, which is driven in a different way and actively connects the port to its history for the benefit of visitors. The museum is part of the Droogdokkenpark, offering a historical and industrial recreation landscape within Antwerp. The grounds are therefore fully open to visitors, where they can discover and be inspired, or simply linger and relax. This combination of an open-air museum, recreational park, and working dock transformed into a social space and dining district creates a vibrant, enthralling place for Antwerp. The dry-dock site is historically marked by a ‘we do what we need to’ attitude, which gives the place a spatial status of permanent temporality. 
 

We strive to maintain as much as possible of what already exists. We have selected buildings that are characteristically significant, or that are ideally suited for a new function within the Maritime Museum. The historical pump house serves as the most important monument, and it is being restored it to its former glory as delicately as possible. The covered boathouse will serve as a generous reception area for the museum area. A further major contribution to the site’s identity comes from the richness of the original cobblestone pavement. This old working floor dates from several periods is a testament to the many modifications that the site has undergone.

The transformation from a working maritime dockland into a working museum is an exciting step in the history of this dynamic urban site. To achieve this, the system of the rational landscape is complemented by a family of objects that attract visitors to an active museum experience.