Pyroguard’s fire safety glass was recently specified for The Netherlands’ Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility. A stunning ovoid shaped building standing 40 m tall, with reflective mirrors covering its surface, the depot receives anywhere from 150,000 to 250,000 visitors a year.
Based in historic Rotterdam in The Netherlands and next door to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is designed to complement its surroundings. With 1,664 mirrored panels all the way round its circumference the building reflects back the sights and scenery of the Museumpark. With the ground-level footprint being small, the building curves upwards and outwards and features an expansive rooftop forest, further integrating the project into the surrounding environment.
While most museums only showcase around six to seven percent of their collections, visitors to the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen can see the result of 173 years of collecting, with more than 151,000 objects housed together in 14 storage compartments, totalling 15,000 m2 of space.
To ensure the protection and safety not only of the artwork, but also the infrastructure of the building and its staff and visitors, Pyroguard’s expertise and technical knowledge were key in helping to develop specific products, which would enable the project requirements to be properly met. In collaboration with ZNR (Zuid-Nederlandse Ramenfabriek), Pyroguard Protect fire safety glass was installed throughout the building’s internal partitions, providing a high-performance 1B1 impact protection and EI60 fire resistance. An Attackguard counterpane of the highest rating was also used, creating a unique multi-functional composition providing additional security to the valuable museum contents.
With some of the glass panes weighing over 1000 kg, the project presented some unique challenges. On top of this, the requirement for high levels of fire protection and burglary resistance resulted in a glazing system that had not been tested before the time of specification. As a result, Pyroguard worked closely with ZNR to design the glazing system and co-ordinate project specific fire tests with Efectis, France to ascertain its performance. These tests were successful, and with certification granted the team could proceed with the installation.
Speaking about the project, Jorn Jochems, Commercial Director at ZNR, said “When it came to working on a project of this scale we knew Pyroguard would be the perfect fit, their extensive expertise in the field of fire safety glass and the multi-functionality of their products gave us the reassurance we needed to achieve the unique requirements set out in this project.”
“With the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, it was essential that we had a glazing system that was not only fire resistant but also burglary resistant too, Pyroguard Protect ticked both of these boxes. Pyroguard’s professional and collaborative approach throughout the project proved instrumental in helping us to get the result we wanted and we look forward to working with them again in the near future.”
Opened in November 2021 by King Willem-Alexander, the Depot is multi-award winning, including the Rooftop Award in 2020, the Glass Award in 2021 and the Rotterdam Architecture Prize in 2022, among others.
For more information, visit: www.pyroguard.eu/
