The TextielMuseum refurbishment demonstrates the aesthetics of making objects. Bas van Tol brings people into contact with materials, emphasising that every element is crafted by people.
Located in Tilburg, the TextielMuseum not only mounts exhibitions but also works with designers to research and develop new fabrics. The museum occupies a 19th-century industrial brick structure to which CEPEZED architects added a steel-and-glass entrance block in 2008.
Bas van Tol furnished the entrance area, café, shop, meeting rooms, auditorium and presentation space inside this volume. While the architecture of the block expresses its structure and installations, the interiors showcase the beauty of materials and making things.
All elements in the entrance area — reception desk, bar, bank, pedestals, cabinets — are faced in slate and blend with the slate floor. The same strategy is adopted with the sales desk and display units in the shop, which combine with the steel tables and hanging system to create a fitting backdrop for the textiles.
Woollen vertical slats, made in the museum, enclose the auditorium and meeting room and are finished on the back in various colours that emit coloured light, turning the space into a catalogue of possibilities. Upstairs, the presentation area features a long bench and circular champagne bar on which to display soft furnishings.
To further highlight the personal nature of making, Bas van Tol commissioned specific contributions from two designers who think through materials. In the café, Bertjan Pot placed oversized steel-frame benches frame wrapped in coloured cord. From the ceiling, Wieki Somers suspended festive objects made of spinnaker that capture and colour the light.
Landing the commission because he is not afraid to apply textiles, Bas van Tol turns the stuffy image of textiles into a celebration of the endless possibilities of soft materials. The project emphasises the value of tactility in the objects around us, an effect heightened by the contrast between textiles and high-tech museum architecture.