Het Nieuwe Instituut

Rotterdam

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This design-driven cultural hub houses the Netherlands Architecture Institute, e-culture institute Virtueel Platform and the Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion. Architect Jo Coenen beat high-profile competitors including Rem Koolhaas to win the 1988 design competition for the building: a striking glass, concrete and steel structure incorporating multiple exhibition spaces, an archive and an auditorium overlooking a lake. Its exhibitions on architecture, design and digital culture can be esoteric and are geared towards design professionals rather than the general public.

Entry to the nearby Huis Sonneveld is included in the ticket price.

Entry to the museum is free on Thursday nights. The bookshop cafe on the ground floor is a popular meeting spot.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Van Nelle Fabriek

    Van Nelle Fabriek

    1.69 MILES

    Designed and built between 1925 and 1931, this modernist World Heritage–listed factory northwest of the city centre is an icon of 20th-century industrial…

  • Mauritshuis Museum near Binnenhof Palace in Hague, Netherlands; Shutterstock ID 200624861; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Mauritshuis

    13.25 MILES

    Offering a wonderful introduction to Dutch and Flemish art, this splendid museum is set in a 17th-century mansion built for wealthy sugar trader Johan…

  • The famous stained glass windows of Sint Janskerk ( saint John Church )of Gouda abound in political symbolism, reproducing figures and events of the time, and use biblical events to refer to the conflict between Spanish Catholics and Dutch Protestants that led to the Dutch Uprising of 1572.

    Sint Janskerk

    12.21 MILES

    Impressive for both its size and its magnificent stained-glass windows, Sint Janskerk had chequered beginnings: previous incarnations of the building…

  • The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen has a collection masterpieces of painting and statuary arts, Museumpark, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, South-Holland, Nederland, the Netherlands, Europe

    Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

    0.09 MILES

    The roll-call of artists represented in the collection of Rotterdam's pre-eminent fine-arts museum is stellar and spans multiple periods and movements:…

  • Escher in Het Paleis

    Escher in Het Paleis

    13.46 MILES

    Once home to members of the Dutch royal family, the 18th-century Lange Voorhout Palace now houses a collection of the work of Dutch graphic artist MC…

  • Kinderdijk

    Kinderdijk

    7.32 MILES

    One of the Dutch sites on Unesco's World Heritage List, this stretch of the Alblasserwaard polder encompasses two canals, 19 traditional windmills, a…

  • Huis Sonneveld

    Huis Sonneveld

    0.07 MILES

    When company director Albertus Sonneveld decided to commission an architect to design a contemporary home for his family, the obvious choice was Leendert…

  • Museum Rotterdam '40-'45 NU

    Museum Rotterdam '40-'45 NU

    0.69 MILES

    Good things often come in small packages, and so it is with this small but excellent museum sheltered under a bridge on the Coolhaven. An eight-minute…

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Nearby Rotterdam attractions

1. Huis Sonneveld

0.07 MILES

When company director Albertus Sonneveld decided to commission an architect to design a contemporary home for his family, the obvious choice was Leendert…

2. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

0.09 MILES

The roll-call of artists represented in the collection of Rotterdam's pre-eminent fine-arts museum is stellar and spans multiple periods and movements:…

3. Sylvette

0.14 MILES

Picasso's sandblasted concrete sculpture Sylvette (1970), which he designed with Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, depicts the great artist's model and muse…

4. Santa Claus

0.18 MILES

This controversial statue of a gnome-like Santa holding what may be a pine tree but may also be a butt plug (sex toy) was designed by American artist Paul…

6. TENT

0.25 MILES

On the ground floor of the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, this gallery stages equally impressive contemporary art shows but differs in that it…

7. Natural History Museum

0.27 MILES

Geared predominantly towards children, the collection at this small museum focuses on delivering facts in a fun way. The 'Uitslovers' ('Show-offs')…

8. Kunsthal

0.28 MILES

This dynamic cultural institution in Rotterdam's main museum enclave is known for its constantly changing and inevitably thought-provoking exhibition…