the building

The museum building was designed by Eerde Schippers of Inbo architects from Heerenveen. The building is intimately connected with the landscape and art. The dark basalt facade almost disappears against the trunks of the trees in the museum park. Only the two openings of the entrance and the restaurant light up. The relief in the facade subtly refers to the parceled meadow landscape.

The building is built across the water of the Prinsenwijk, which was constructed in the eighteenth century as a Grand Canal by the (garden) architect Daniël Marot. The museum café is situated above the water, an almost transparent space between the two museum wings. It offers a panoramic view of Landgoed Oranjewoud, the former country residence of the Oranje-Nassau family.

Within the museum, art takes precedence over architecture with simple, regularly spaced, open-plan rooms in the west wing cabinets. Glass strips at the height of the plinth provide daylight and offer the visitor an orientation to the land and water that surrounds the building. In 2006, Museum Belvédère was voted BNA Building of the Year. It is the most important Dutch architecture prize.