Re-opening Design Museum Ghent

An aluminium curtain

Design Museum Gent is reopening its doors and unveiling a new gate. With Freeze Frame 82.2, the Antwerp-based studio Unfold has created a monumental eye-catcher for the new museum wing: an aluminium curtain that appears to billow in the wind, but has been frozen at the most exciting moment, just before opening, at frame 82.2. It is a striking landmark for the new wing of Design Museum Gent, concealing by night and revealing by day.

The choice of a curtain shape is deliberate. It is the most adaptable and human barrier we know. It is a fluid symbol of openness that invites and provokes questions: what lies behind it?

The work is a technical tour de force that demonstrates the future of digital fabrication. Unfold first created a digital simulation of a folding, moving curtain. To translate that virtual idea into physical reality, the latest 3D printing techniques were used. A robotic arm built the sculpture layer by layer from no less than 250 kilograms of aluminium. When the gate is open during the day, the work transforms into an undulating relief against the wall, playing with light and shadow.

Design in every detail

The innovative spirit behind the gate continues inside. Around twenty designers were commissioned to shape the public spaces of the new wing using circular and biobased materials. They drew inspiration from the overarching concept by curator Siegrid Demyttenaere: from earth to sky; from digging to flying.

These Special Design Projects extend the museum concept into every corner of the building. Even purely functional objects were given a design interpretation through specific commissions. Think of specially designed shop furniture, visitor lockers and the impressive acoustic curtains that can flexibly divide the lecture space.

Those who descend to the basement will even find design in the most unexpected places. In the toilets, each cubicle has been given its own distinctive sustainable finish. Behind every door lies a new surprise: from pressed seaweed and compressed volcanic ash from Mount Etna to locally sourced Ghent oak dating from the 16th century.

An open museum

Both the entrance gate Freeze Frame 82.2 and the other Special Design Projects can be visited free of charge in and around the new wing of Design Museum Gent. This new wing, designed by Carmody Groarke (GB) and ATAMA (BE), completes the museum site alongside the restoration of the historic buildings by RE-ST (BE). With the new wing, the museum creates a connection with the 21st century, both in terms of visitor experience and social relevance.

Design Museum Gent becomes a place where you look, make, think and enjoy. Thanks to new spaces for lectures, workshops, community exhibitions and events, we are opening ourselves up to the entire city. We remove barriers and provide a platform for local talent. We are a free place to create, celebrate and unwind.