The history of our museum site

The site of today's museum has long been a place where people gathered. From the fifteenth century onwards, travellers could stay at the De Gulden Appel inn. In 1755, the inn made way for the construction of Hotel De Coninck, an elegant town house built for linen merchant Ferdinand De Coninck. The foundations of the inn and its original cellar kitchen still survive today.  After several families occupied Hotel De Coninck during the nineteenth century, and the building was even divided into two separate homes, the City of Ghent purchased the property in 1920. Three years later, the museum moved into the building after leaving its original home at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. 

In 1975, part of the rear buildings was declared structurally unsafe, creating an opportunity for expansion. The City of Ghentacquired a former factory and two neighbouring houses on Drabstraat to make room for a new museum wing. 

While the historic House Leten, dating from 1577, was carefully restored, architect Willy Verstraete designed a bold contemporary extension alongside it. Opened in 1992, this building became known as Wing 92. Even then, plans for a larger museum were already taking shape. 

The journey towards the museum's reopening began in 2015 with feasibility studies and fundraising. In 2019, an Open Call organised with the Flemish Government Architect attracted 96 proposals. The winning design, Museum in the Width, by Carmody Groarke, ATAMA and RE-ST architects, envisioned the museum as a true third place: an open space shaped together with diverse design communities. 

Construction of the final phase of the museum campus, managed by sogent, started in 2022. During the works, the collection was temporarily moved to storage facilities, while the museum's iconic toilet-roll sculpture found a temporary home at the Verbeke Foundation.  

At the same time, Hotel De Coninck and Wing 1992 underwent restoration and renovation. Archaeological excavations on the construction site uncovered unexpected remains dating back to the thirteenth century. These discoveries are now preserved and studied at the archaeological depot of De Zwarte Doos. 

The renewed museum has been designed according to circular building principles. The new wing serves as a welcoming public landmark, with its main entrance opening onto the City Room, alongside flexible spaces for workshops and lectures, andpanoramic views from the loft and rooftop terrace. The building has been conceived as an open meeting place for residents, visitors and designers. The new wing can be visitedwithout a museum ticket, making design accessible to everyone. 

 Sustainability is embedded throughout the architecture, from its climate-neutral timber structure to the innovative Ghent Waste Brick, a circular façade brick made from 63% recycled construction waste from Ghent. The building also incorporates more than ten Special Design Projects, specially commissioned works created for the museum, including the reception desk, pocket garden and toilets. Each project reflects the museum's commitment to bio-based and circular materials.