The Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot is located in historic Rotterdam in the Netherlands and is right next to the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum. With 1,664 mirrored panels spanning the entire perimeter of the building, it reflects the sights and landscape of the museum park. Because the ground floor area is small, the building curves upwards and outwards. In addition, it has a sprawling forest on the roof, which further integrates the project into its surroundings.
While most museums only display about six to seven per cent of their collections, visitors to the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen can view the result of 173 years of collecting: more than 151,000 objects housed in 14 storage compartments covering a total of 15,000 square metres.
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Protection from fire and burglars
To ensure the protection and safety not only of the artworks, but also of the building's infrastructure and the staff and visitors, Pyroguard's expertise and technical knowledge were crucial in developing specific fire protection products to meet the project's requirements. In collaboration with ZNR (Zuid-Nederlandse Ramenfabriek), Pyroguard Protect fire resistant glass was installed in the internal partition walls of the building, providing high performance 1B1 impact protection and EI60 fire resistance.
See also: Fire-resistant glass can be really special
In addition, burglar-resistant glass with the highest protection rating was used, creating a unique multifunctional composition that provides additional security for the valuable museum contents.
Fire-resistance tested in France
As some of the glass panes weigh more than 1000 kilograms, the project posed some special challenges to the logistics and installation teams. Added to this were the high fire and burglary safety requirements, which necessitated a glazing system that had not been tested for such specifications.
Also interesting: A very special kind of fall-protection glass
Pyroguard therefore worked closely with ZNR to design the glazing system and co-ordinate project-specific fire testing with Efectis, France, to verify the desired performance of the system. These tests were successful and once certification was granted, the team was able to proceed with installation.
Pyroguard
