Leading British experiential design agency MET Studio has been commissioned to design a major new series of galleries, collectively entitled 'The Maritime Experience', for the Netherlands Maritime Museum in the heart of Amsterdam's nautical district.

The museum, which is located in Amsterdam's 350-year-old Naval Depot, the former arsenal of the Dutch admiralty, and houses one of the world's leading maritime collections is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation project, overseen by leading Dutch architect Liesbeth van der Pol of Atelier Zeinstra van der Pol, which seeks to restore the splendour of the original building, as well as creating a new intervention in the form of a central glass-roofed atrium. A number of new gallery areas will also be created as part of this ambitious scheme for the institution, which offers over 200,000 visitors annually the possibility to discover and experience the maritime history and culture of the seafaring nation. 

MET Studio - in a joint venture with Dutch contractor Hypsos and content specialists Tinker Imagineers - will be responsible for four ground-floor rooms at the top right corner of the square building, framing the new courtyard space. The £1m, 450 sq m project was won in a 5-way pitch against a number of leading Dutch and European consortia and is due to complete at the same time as the overall museum refurbishment in Spring 2010.

The studio, whose previous projects for Dutch clients include the interior and exhibition design for the Dutch Pavilion at Expo 2000, commissioned by the Dutch national government and set within a building designed by architects MVRDV, created all the 3D concepts for the winning pitch. The brief for the project had asked how four individual rooms could be transformed into a series of immersive galleries, built around compelling stories from naval history.

'Our approach' explained MET Studio project Lead Designer Peter Karn, 'was not to put the central objects described here on any kind of pedestal, but to concentrate instead on creating a single immersive experience in each room, with the object fully integrated into a naturally-flowing storyline.'