De Pont

The De Pont foundation for contemporary art is housed in the former woollen mill of Thomas de Beer. This factory, hidden away in a courtyard amidst the surrounding development, dates from the thirties and is the remainder of a much larger factory complex. It has a certain mysteriousness: a peculiar closed box that reveals nothing about its interior. The guiding principle in the rebuilding has been to retain the character of the building as much as possible, on the one hand due to the usefulness of the spaces and, on the other, to preserve something of the past. First the old building was gutted and cleaned, and then primed for its new use with a minimum of interventions. All additions are held clear of the existing building so that the time factor is brought into view. The climax of the complex is the large flat exhibition space. In it, twelve slit rooflights the length of the building generate an ambiance that is unique.