Work on refurbishing the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam has now been completed and the building is now being fitted out for the jubilee exhibition Van Gogh at Work, which will open on May 1, 2013, the museum authorities said on Tuesday.

The new show commemorates 160 years since the painter’s birth and marks the conclusion of seven years of research into Van Gogh’s methods.

The refurbishment project has taken just seven months. Major works from the collection are on display at the Hermitage Museum on the Amstel river until April 25, pending the re-opening.

‘Against all expectations, we were even able to seize the opportunity to refurbish the floors, walls and ceilings so the building looks fresh again,’ said the museum’s new managing director Adriaan Dönszelmann.

Heat storage

The project involved installing a modern and sustainable air conditioning installation that allows the right climatic conditions to be set per room. A 160-metre-deep well was dug under the museum for heat and cold storage, collecting warmth in the summer and releasing it to heat the building in winter.

The roof has also been completely replaced and given extra insulation. In total, 2,300 m² of parquet flooring was renewed, 4,300 m² of ceiling replaced and 11,000 m² of walls painted, the museum said in a statement.

The newly refurbished Rijksmuseum is due to reopen later this month after a 10-year closure.