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Renovation of the "Royal Museum for Central Africa" (RMCA), Tervuren (2013)

2013-09-10

At the end of November 2013 the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) will close its doors for a three year renovation period. When the museum reopens in December 2018, it will have drastically changed in appearance. Denys was commissioned for the complete renovation.

This renovation is urgently needed. The museum building dates from 1910. It still exudes a unique charm, but the infrastructure is no longer suited to the needs of a modern museum. The last major alterations date back to the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels, more than 50 years ago now.

The permanent exhibition has also become extremely dated, in sharp contrast with the temporary exhibitions which tend to concentrate on scientific research and the topicality of the collections. All in all it is high time for a drastic renovation and modernisation.
The renovation of the museum building gets underway in 2013. The museum will be given a contemporary infrastructure and an entirely new and original narrative thread. The renovated museum is expected to reopen in December 2018. The scientific institute will continue to operate from Tervuren while the museum is closed.
The renovated museum building and the new welcome pavilion will be the first visible changes on the site. After this the remainder of the master plan for the whole sitewill be implemented and this in relation to the buildings in which the scientific departments are currently housed. The completion of this challenging total project is not expected before 2020.


The entire renovation takes place under the authority of the Belgian Buildings Agency in close collaboration with the museum. Following a public call for tender in 2007 the assignment was awarded to the temporary partnership Stéphane Beel Architects (TV SBA).