Have you ever noticed that in the Groninger Museum everything has a color? That's because Frans Haks didn't like white. In the context of the Groninger Museum College, head of education Steven Kolsteren gave a lecture about Haks, who was director (1978 - 1995) when the current Groninger Museum was built and opened in 1994. Together with the Italian architect Alessandro Mendini, he was the main brain behind the design. What do you notice during a museum visit of the founding father of the current Groninger Museum?
1. The location
To begin with, the museum would never have been where it is today without Haks. Haks found the building of the old Groninger Museum on the Praediniussingel, which now houses Minerva Academy after the Nature Museum, to be much too small. He wanted a larger building with space for different exhibitions. The municipality had that space, opposite the main station. Not only did this place ensure that the Groninger Museum was centrally located, but also that people coming from the station no longer had to walk to the city centre. Because with the construction of the museum, a bridge was also built.
2. The Golden Tower
Groningen wouldn't be Groningen anymore without the golden tower of the museum. This is exactly what Haks would have wanted. He wanted to put the museum on the map with a striking building and gave this assignment to Mendini. He then came up with the idea of building a tower. A city, he argued, is characterized by its towers, like those of churches and cathedrals. The tower of the museum would give Groningen a new landmark. And because the tower would also function as a depot - the treasure room of the museum - it became golden.
3. No windows in the museum
Another remarkable feature of the museum is that there are no windows in the exhibition areas. This is because Haks visited the Louisiana Museum in Denmark during the preparations for construction. This museum has large windows with a view of nature. Haks noticed that many visitors walked straight past the works of art to look out the windows. He hated this. That is why he immediately decided that there would be no windows in the exhibition rooms in his museum. Nature and art, he thought, are competitors that it is better to separate.
4. Artificial light
According to Haks, the windowless exhibition spaces had another additional advantage. As a result, no daylight could shine inside anymore. Haks found daylight unpredictable, because the changing outside light could unintentionally under- or over-expose works of art. Visitors to the museum will therefore only encounter artificial light. With artificial light, the light can be controlled down to the last detail and the perfect light beam always shines on every work of art.
5. The "Totem Pole"
Finally, the pole in front of the entrance. This depicts both a doll welcoming visitors and the map of the museum. But Haks actually had another idea with this pole. He wanted to put a loudspeaker in it so that he could talk through the microphone to unsuspecting passers-by from his office, which sat above the entrance and overlooked the bridge. There is room for the cables in the construction, but unfortunately the megaphone was never used.