The Naturalis Biodiversity Center is the successor to the Natural History Museum, founded by order of King Willem I of the Netherlands in 1820. Since then, it has undergone several transformations, the main one of which happened in the early 2010s: the Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam and the National Herbarium, one of the the largest in the world. As a result, an educational and research center has emerged, whose collection (42 million items) is one of the five largest natural science collections on the planet.
At the same time, the popularity of "Naturalis" among the general public only grew, with 400,000 people there a year, so the building that opened in 1998 had to be promptly expanded and rebuilt. The architects of Neutelings Riedijk have placed a spacious atrium in the center, which connects the existing storage and administrative premises with the new museum and modern laboratories for more than 200 researchers. The total area of the institution is 38,000 m2, of which 18,000 m2 is reconstruction, and 20,000 is new construction.
The facade of the atrium is a concrete ornamental composition of ovals and triangles, reminiscent of the structure of molecules. The same pattern is placed on the floors. The interior is clad in red travertine, interspersed with 263 concrete panels designed by fashion designer Iris van Herpen. The white concrete has been given the smoothness of silk to evoke Van Herpen's futuristic dresses, and the patterns are inspired by items from the Naturalis collection. The same striped structure is on the facades of the building.
Together with the gleaming crystals of travertine, the white panels create the impression of contrasting layers of rock. The similarity is enhanced by the path-like tapering path through the atrium - from the showroom and laboratories at ground level to the galleries on the upper floor.
The atrium is also decorated with works by designer Tord Boontje. Usually he deals with furniture, lamps and patterned fabrics, and for Naturalis he has made almost a hundred wall panels "about the wonders of nature", combining graphic and photo motives.
