Schoenenkwartier Shoe Museum / Civic Architects

The Schoenenkwartier Museum is a new and innovative knowledge center for shoe design, shoe production, and shoe fashion in the center of Waalwijk, the Dutch leather and shoe city. It is housed in a listed building complex from the 1930s, by architect Alexander Kropholler, which has been partly renovated, transformed, and expanded. The buildings now house a collection of 12,000 objects, several permanent exhibitions, a knowledge center with a research library, workshop space and auditorium, a museum café, and laboratories for design and prototyping. Both the planning and design of the building and its interior map out a new inspiring future for the industry, the city, and the community, built on the values of the past.