The ambition of the Sint Jans church council is to develop the Sint Jans Museum, that is established in the Bouwloods, into a ‘accessible, attractive and educative visitor center which can add an extra dimension to a visit to the Sint Jan’. It should not only be destined for tourists but also for the inhabitants of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. By this the Sint Jans Museum, which houses the largest collection of medieval sculptures within the Netherlands, reveals an suitable museum emanation.
Therefore over a year ago the church council esthablished the Foundation Exhibition Sint Jan, which controls the planning process regarding the museum.
Molenaar & Bol & Van Dillen architects, HeemArchitects and MTD landscape architects, in consultation with the Foundation Exhibition Sint Jan, are working on an integral design for the Sint Jans Museum and Sint Jans Garden. They searched for ‘a balance between an attractive shape and a meaningful content’ .
Hereby the Bouwloods is extended with a 'shell', creating a spacious reception hall. It is the intention to tell the story of the construction, the history, the meaning and functioning of the cathedral in an accessible way. Some exhibited statues will speak about this for themselves. It is proposed to measure glass bottom plates in the outskirts of the museum, who offer a view on the sculptures in the basement; part of the museum that at the moment is not accessible to the public.
New substantial windows will certainly create an overwhelming view from the museum on the cathedral. It is also proposed to replace the roof of the Bouwloods by a flat roof, so that visitors from here can examine by binoculars the Sint Jan and its wealth of sculptures. On the other hand it’s also possible to observe this fortune from the glass elevator, which is invented at the side of the Torenstraat and brings visitors to a height of 15 meters.
To make the Sint Jan more accessible, the idea is to open up an entrance from the Hinthamerstraat at the Noorderportaal, besides the actual entrance at the Torenstraat. Actually for a tourist this is the most appropriate entry for a visit to the Sint Jan; you come to the cathedral through the Sint Jans Garden. Hereby the Sint Jans Garden will be reopened and returned to the city. It creates ‘a tour around the cathedral’ .
