Design Museum Gent

Om museet

Design Museum Gent was founded in 1903 as a museum of applied arts and has since built up a collection of around 24,000 design objects, from fourteenth-century chairs to contemporary design. Since 1923 it has been housed in Hotel De Coninck, a town palace from 1755 that the City of Ghent bought in 1920. The inn De Gulden Appel previously stood on this site; the foundations and the original kitchen have been preserved in the basement.

In 1992 a new wing by architect Willy Verstraete opened next to the restored Huis Leten from 1577. Afterwards, expansion plans remained on the table because some functions were still missing. In 2015 the route to a new wing began. After an open call in 2019 the jury chose the design “Museum in de breedte” by Carmody Groarke, ATAMA and RE-ST architectenvennootschap. Construction began in 2022, and during the works archaeologists discovered traces from the twelfth century. During this period the collection moved into storage, and Hotel De Coninck and Vleugel 1992 were renovated.

The new, circularly built wing is deliberately an open meeting place: the inner garden, the museum shop, the exhibitions in Vitrine and the panoramic view over Ghent can all be enjoyed without a ticket. The museum reopened in October 2026. The collection includes work by Henry van de Velde, Albert Van huffel, Pieter De Bruyne, Ettore Sottsass jr., Alessandro Mendini and Maarten Van Severen, as well as industrial brands such as Alessi and Tupperware, and archives of Belgian designers.

Højdepunkter

• A design collection of around 24,000 objects, including works by Henry van de Velde, Sottsass and Mendini
• Hotel De Coninck from 1755 combined with a new, circularly built wing
• Panoramic view over Ghent from the new wing, accessible without a ticket
• Chair circle where you can touch and try out the chairs
• Family trail “Hallo ontwerper!” and the Studiolo's

Permanente udstillinger

• Collectie. Models from the Past for the Future – The collection presentation shows objects from the museum's collection through the lens of five current themes and also tells the history of the museum.
• Studio Digitaal – An experimental space in the historic Louis XVI salon on the role of AI, algorithms and the digital collection.

Grundlagt

1903

Ejer

Stad Gent

Entrépriser & rabatter

Gratis entré: Residents of Ghent: on the first Sunday of the month, during Late Donderdag and during the Gentse Feesten.

The ticket gives access to the permanent collection and all current temporary exhibitions. Free admission with, among others, Museumpas, ICOM, the guide card and a press card. The inner garden, the new wing with the museum shop, the panoramic view and the toilets are accessible without a ticket. The ticket can be booked online with a time slot, or bought at the desk while places are available. Payment is possible by cash, Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Bancontact and Sodexo culture cheques (for tickets only).

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

All rooms are step-free and reachable by lift via the entrance at Drabstraat 10. On floor -1 there are adapted, gender-neutral toilets. At the entrance 20 folding chairs are available. There are stimulus baskets, touch plates, a chair circle with conversation cards and low-stimulus guided tours; groups with blind or partially sighted visitors can request a tour called “kijken met je handen” (looking with your hands). QR codes let you have room texts read aloud on your own device, and a visual step-by-step plan helps with autism-friendly planning. Assistance dogs are welcome. Parking spaces for people with a disability are located on the Poel, about 200 metres away.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
• Interaktive stationer
• Barnevognsvenlig
• Puslerum
• Legeplads / legehjørne

Children and young people up to and including 18 years enter for free. Children from 5 years can follow the family trail “Hallo ontwerper!”; at the Studiolo's they follow the design process by folding and connecting things themselves; and children aged 0 to 4 have soft play elements in three places. All rooms are suitable for pushchairs, with a place to leave pushchairs or rollators. The toilets have a baby changing table, and the museum is a recognised BabySpot.

Transport & parkering

Bicycles can be parked free of charge and under guard in the bicycle park under the Sint-Michielsbrug, a 5-minute walk away. Coaches park at Parking Gent-Dampoort or Parking Yachtdreef.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Museumsbutik
• Garderobe
• Opbevaringsskabe
• Wi-fi

The museum offers free Wi-Fi via “Gent - Free wifi”. The unattended cloakroom with lockers is free (no coin needed). The museum shop is accessible without a ticket and is open whenever the museum is open. According to the website, the museum café is temporarily closed. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the exhibition rooms; picnicking is allowed in the inner garden.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Firmaarrangementer

Op til 500 personer.

Five spaces can be rented: the Stadskamer (194 m², up to 120 people standing), the inner garden (560 m², up to 500 people standing), the Forum (210 m², up to 120 people seated), and the Atelier and the Loft with a view over Ghent (up to 120 people standing or 80 seated). Catering is handled by caterers the museum puts you in touch with; the Stadskamer and the inner garden are only available on Wednesdays.

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