Journalists were invited to the “Bezoek ter plaatse” of the 1st phase of the reconstruction of the important, if not the main, architectural heritage of Antwerp’s 17th century Rubens Huis. We were given yellow vests and helmets (like the helmets of antique statues in the Garden) and learned all the secrets behind the facade of the new Museum building on Hopland 13. From Museum Director Bert Watteeuw.

The artist’s pride, his House and especially the Baroque Garden, demanded a sensitive approach to his legacy. I will start with the much-loved Garden, whose coloristic advisor was an Antwerpian whose perfect sense of color we have seen many times today in his mind-blowing fashion collections – Dries Van Noten. Ars Horti Architectural Landscape Bureau, after extensive research with museum staff on hundreds of archival documents, floral still lifes and gardening manuals, has developed a contemporary design for an evergreen Garden that will bloom 365 days a year. 17,500 plants, trees, shrubs and flower bulbs were planted in the portico and garden pavilion.

The Rubens Huis Museum has been spruced up with a new building by the famous Belgian architectural duo Robbrechts en Daem. In my opinion, with great respect for the “genius of place” and something baroque in the spirally descending staircases – a symbol of the movement of creative thought of the artist, diplomat, businessman and nature lover Peter Paul Rubens. The slender columns in the decoration pay tribute to the artist’s love of Italian painting and architecture. And the new House is harmoniously integrated into Antwerp’s oldest street.

It is well known that Rubens was a bibliophile – without detracting from the importance of the Museum’s current library (it will be open until June 28, 2024), the new one (2 thousand meters of shelving) is more comfortable for readers – scholars, students and the general public. Visiting the library is free and without reservation.

In the new building, which will especially appeal to children, there will be a virtual reality Rubens Experience, where new technologies will immerse visitors in the world of Rubens.

So, meet us on August 30, 2024 for the opening of the Rubens Huis at Hopland 13. Phase 2 will see the restoration of the Artist’s House and Kolveniershof (opening no earlier than 2030).