In Tilburg, NL, the new Nardinc wing of the Singer Museum by Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten houses the art collection of the same name donated to the Museum by Els and Jaap Blokker. Embracing a garden recently designed by Piet Oudolf, the new wing comprises two new exhibition rooms and a new interior garden room. Further to this, adjacent rooms were renovated and converted into additional exhibition space.
According to the architects, the concept behind the architecture is the creation of a seamless continuity between interior spaces and the museum garden.
Elements that are new or different with the existing Singer Museum are connected to the history of the place. Outside, continuity was sought with the original museum building from 1956, designed by Wouter Hamdorff for Anna Singer after the death of her husband. The new addition also pays respect to ‘The Wild Swans,’ a villa designed by J.W. Hanrath for William Henry and Anna Singer in 1911.
New brickwork along with the red slate tiles and roof height of the new wing are respectful of the original architecture of Hanrath and Hamdorth. A tall frame in the chimney projecting above the roof frames views of surrounding trees, while a second framed window within the gallery provides views of the villa and the glass façade of the garden room affords majestic views of the garden.
Inside, elements from the old villa have been reinvented in an abstracted form. This includes oak paneling in the garden room, oak frames in passages, skirting boards, and continuous oak parquet floors. Skylights in the new museum rooms are classical in their form and layout, along with the furniture, lamps and exhibition pedestals.
The resulting unity brings a balanced experience of art, architecture and garden.
