Ted Noten, Jurgen Bey, Frank Bruggeman, Wieki Somers, Simon Heijdens and Bertjan Pot grouped under the name of Haunting Dogs Full of Grace have created for Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen a transition area where art blends with everyday reality: this entrance area is open to everyone and free of charge.
The new designs restore the contact with the street, the courtyard and the museum park.
The new entrance area covers the entire ground floor of the exhibition building designed by architect Alexander Bodon (1973), as well as the 2003 extension designed by architects Robbrecht and Daem.
The designers involved in the group Haunting Dogs Full of Grace worked completely independently of one another.

The entrance area now features a new transparent museum shop designed by Bertjan Pot.
The new espressobar, designed by Simon Heijdens, has an entrance from the street and allows access even when the museum is closed. The ceiling has a ‘word tapestry projection’ that grows and changes every day, and the reception facilities have been redesigned.
Visitors are welcomed in the foyer by a blue large letter ‘B’ on its side, which was designed by artist Frank Bruggeman and serves as a cash desk and information counter.
Coats are now hung in the ‘wardrobe carousel’ designed by Studio Wieki Somers (Wieki Somers en Dylan van der Berg), which allows visitors to hang up their own coats and hoist them upwards. During their visit, the coat becomes part of the museum collection.

The hospitality, represented by the new entrance area, is enhanced by a new type of admission ticket: a jewel. Jewellery designer Ted Noten designed the jewel in the form of a small fluorescent letter that changes every day. The letter corresponds to the ‘story of the day’ about a piece in the museum collection or an event behind the scenes.
In the educational centre designed by Jurgen Bey, large glass showcases containing original art form small museums in themselves. At the same time, the rooms house a variety of educational facilities. In this way, the entrance area provides an original form of access to some of the museum’s core functions which will invite and encourage visitors to see the rest of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

From top:
Merry-go-round coat rack by Studio Wieki Somers. Photo by Elian Somers.

Espressobar for the Museum by Simon. Heijdens.
Above each table, a spiral ornament is projected, that through constant use of the table slowly grows word by word throughout days and weeks, forming a legible archive of the use of the table.
Growing ornaments above 16 tables in a 7 x 10 m ceiling projection.

Till prints the current readings on the bottom of the receipt, which therefor becomes a time specific souvenir. Courtesy of Simon Heijdens