Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum has reopened its doors after a decade of major architectural refurbishment by Spanish firm Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos. The five-year delay and the over-budget tens of millions were justified as consequences of the enormous responsibility and task of overhauling a national institution, the technical challenges of the below-sea-level site in the Dutch capital, a significant update of the original red-brick volumes, and the incorporation of a 24,000 square foot glass-topped atrium to allow for natural daylight.
