A department store disguised as a museum, or a museum disguised as a department store? The new Dutch Mining Museum is not a museum in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, the focus is on the many stories from a past that reaches far beyond the city and the region. The compelling design immerses the visitor in the story of mining history above ground, showing not only the successes but also the downsides of this exhausting industry. 

Innovative concept & human-centric design
Visitors imagine themselves in the department store of yesteryear, the once-famous Kneepkens department store in Heerlen, and go ‘shopping’. The exhibition tells the unique story of the rise, the glory days, and the decline of coal mining in the South Limburg region and its impact on society. With this new museum, a part of history that has long been kept hidden finally sees the light of day. The presentation of the objects is based on the original function of the monumental building: plenty of choice, a spacious layout, no fixed route, but a free interpretation of the visit for every visitor. 

The location makes sense when you realise that in the heyday of coal mining (the mid-1950s), the city of Heerlen had the largest number of department stores in the Netherlands. Due to the thriving industry, there were many miners with money to spend, and this department store could be built thanks to them and for them. Hardly anyone remembers that the earth’s crust under this building, this city, this region used to house the largest industrial estate in the Netherlands. The 1939 listed building by the renowned architect Frits Peutz is also called the ‘Little Glass Palace’ because of the similarities with the famous Glass Palace he designed earlier.

The building has an open structure, and the glass façade provides a lot of daylight. This is something you would not expect in a mining museum which is often dark and underground. But since it is precisely the societal story above ground that is being told, it has been used as a tool in the design.

Creative spatial design
Each of the four floors has its own colour-based theme. Visitors start at Black, where they explore the story of coal and the miner. The second floor, Gold, almost tangibly reflects the prosperity brought to the Mining Area by the coal industry. The third floor is Grey and shows the frightening flipside of the mining industry, such as the unhealthy working conditions and the disastrous social consequences of the mine closure. 

Finally, the top floor is called Colour, and here, the visitor is introduced to the transition and colourful future of the Mining Region. In the exhibition, visitors hearing stories through mining telephones, playing music records from the era, entering a fitting room set up as a confession room, and so on. The subjects are given their own world. Just as brands in a department store can manifest their identity, here too the stories are presented in a visually distinctive and interactive way.