Design Museum Gent has reopened its doors after four years of works, which included a complete renovation of the space and the construction of a new building. According to the director, Katrien Laporte, the project’s feasibility study began in 2015.
The museum now covers around 6,500 square metres, of which approximately 3,700 are devoted to exhibitions. The façade was built with 82,000 bricks made in Ghent from construction waste.
Of the collection of 24,000 design pieces, 500 objects are on display, almost half of which had never been shown by the museum before. Even the toilets are part of the experience: each of the ten cubicles has different tiles, with a QR code explaining how they were made.
The reopening is being celebrated with a nine-day festival and more than 120 activities, with 33 shops and hotels in Ghent turning their windows into temporary exhibitions. The programme also includes a market with 60 stalls by local designers and free admission over the opening weekend.
