Antwerpen - MHKA

Complete study assignment for the construction of a future museum for Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA)

The Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) is – just like the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and Mu.ZEE in Ostend – an institution belonging to the Flemish Community. Through a new construction project in Antwerp’s southern district, close to the current location, the Flemish government wishes to strengthen the M HKA as an institution and improve its international positioning. The new building will be located on the site of the former court of appeal and labour court, and will connect the redesigned Scheldt quays with the new Zuidpark. The new museum building should enable the Flemish Community to display its own contemporary art collection in a high-quality and sustainable manner and to organise leading national and international exhibitions. The museum has an important social function, with a broad programme for and participation of various target groups.

The commission for the design of a new building was first published in 2019 via an Open Call by the Flemish Government Architect. However, in 2020, the then Minister of Culture decided not to award the commission because new insights necessitated a revision of the project definition. In 2024, Het Facilitair Bedrijf (The Facilities Company) put an amended contract on the market on behalf of the Department of Culture, Youth and Media. The selection and award committees were chaired by Flemish Government Architect Erik Wieërs.

Six design teams were selected from the various candidates, who presented their vision to a professional award committee in September 2024:

• Bovenbouw Architectuur + Christ & Gantenbein (CH)
• DRDH Architects BV + Jamie Fobert Architects (UK)
• noAarchitecten + EM2N Architekten AG (CH) + Sergison Bates Architects (UK)
• OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen + SO–IL Office (USA) + Robbrecht en Daem architecten + Dierendonckblancke architecten+ Laura Muyldermans
• Studio Nauta Bedaux VOF (NL) + Feilden Fowles Architects Limited (UK)

Based on the recommendation of the award committee, the Flemish Government awarded the contract to Bovenbouw Architectuur + Christ & Gantenbein (CH) in January 2025. The project will be realised in a construction team, which means that the client (the Flemish Government), the selected design team and the contractor will work together intensively from an early stage. The Flemish Government will appoint the contractor through a separate procedure.

Like the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) and Mu.ZEE in Ostend, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) is an institution owned by the Flemish Community. The Flemish Community established M HKA in 1985 under the status of a non-profit organisation. This was done in order to maximise agility and flexibility. The Flemish Community owns the infrastructure and most of the collection of M HKA. M HKA receives an annual grant for its operations and staff.

In addition, M HKA and KMSKA are also directly classified as cultural heritage institutions of the Flemish Community, as described in the Cultural Heritage Decree. The decree stipulates that these institutions are leading in terms of quality and management. They are an international reference, a flagship and play a major general or specific social role for Flanders. The way in which they carry out their cultural heritage activities serves as an example for other players in the field.

Since its foundation, M HKA has been housed in a converted and extended grain silo on Leuvenstraat in Antwerp’s Zuidwijk district. The museum suffers from a number of infrastructural shortcomings and limitations. It does not meet current museum standards. Various preliminary studies have shown that it is not possible to meet the expectations set out in the Cultural Heritage Decree within the current infrastructure, particularly with regard to public functions and the presentation of the important collection of 14,000 works. 
In order to realise its international ambitions as a cultural heritage institution, the Flemish Government therefore provided for the study and construction of a new museum of contemporary art in the Coalition Agreement. The city of Antwerp and the Flemish Government jointly opted for a new location in the South of Antwerp, namely the current location of the Court of Appeal. 
The Flemish Community wants to create the best possible infrastructure for accessing the rich art collection of the Flemish Community. To this end, three complementary sites will be used: the recently renovated KMSKA, M HKA and Mu.ZEE. With this new construction project focusing on the presentation of contemporary art and practice in an international context, Flanders is taking the next step in opening up its own collections and catching up in the field of cultural heritage. As an institution, M HKA will evolve in the coming years towards a more extensive operation with greater international ambitions. To distinguish it from the current operations of M HKA, it is referred to as the Future Museum of Contemporary Art.

The realisation of the TMHK is an important lever for further developing the Flemish contemporary visual arts sector and putting it on the international map. In the new museum building, the Flemish Community will be able to display its own (contemporary) art collection in a high-quality and sustainable manner and organise leading (inter)national exhibitions. The museum has an important social function, with a broad programme for and participation of various target groups. The TMHK will also be an important scientific institution for contemporary art. The research tasks will be bundled in a separate research centre at a different location. There will be room for progressive artistic, curatorial and art-scientific research, preservation and management of the collection, and innovative production. This research centre is not part of this assignment.

The Flemish Community is looking for a design team that can translate its requirements into a sustainable and high-performance infrastructure and provide the Future Museum of Contemporary Art (TVHK) with the appropriate architectural appearance. The client attaches great importance to the design team’s willingness to engage in the process and expects the design to be developed in close dialogue with the client. For this assignment, the Flemish Community is working with a construction team (see below).

The new museum is a sustainable museum. Sustainability also touches on the core of cultural heritage institutions: the high-quality preservation and transmission of what we consider valuable to the next generation. 
Sustainability has various dimensions: a building with a long lifespan, a robust and solid building that can withstand the test of time, a building that is timeless and will still have value in a hundred years’ time, a building that people enjoy visiting and spending time in, a building with a low environmental impact and added social value. 
The GRO sustainability meter and the principles of circular construction provide the tools to achieve this goal during the design, construction and operation phases.