Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp by Bobo Boom is licensed under CC BY 2.0
The Museum aan de Stroom or MAS is located in Antwerp, Belgium. An impressive sight, the building resembles an exploded view and you can catch some glimpses through the large undulating glass windows of the spiral staircase inside. Each one of its ten floors has a slight twist, which creates the spiral.
After journeying up through the museum and all of its collections you will emerge on top of the building which boasts panoramic views of the city, integrating past, present, and future. Looking down from the roof or upper stories, you can see a large mosaic which covers the square in front of the museum.
Antwerpen – Museum aan de Stroom by Fred Romero is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Situated on the banks of the Scheldt river, the MAS is not far from the central train station and diamond district, famous in Antwerp and originating sometime in the 1890’s. Antwerp itself has a rich history, dating back to the Middle Ages.
The MAS was designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, it was completed in 2011, and is made of red Indian sandstone. The stone was randomly arranged using a computer program. Inside, the MAS houses 470,000 pieces of art. Not all of those can be displayed at once and there are some storage areas that are available to visitors which display 180,000 pieces.
More than just an unusual building or warehouse, the MAS serves to tell the story of Antwerp through art and hopefully can entertain and educate visitors for a long time to come.
