In episode 7 of Boijmans TV, Mandy is no longer seated at the security system monitors, but in the reception - for more social contact! - and our guide Bregje tells her group everything about the museum building. The museum arose during a time of crisis, but architect van der Steur and director Hannema were thinking of the future. They took as their example the new city hall of Stockholm; discovered by trial and error the ideal incidence of light; combined an antique stairway from The Hague with the modern Rotterdam architecture and decided that the museum's garden room would be a place of peace and quiet.

In 1940, Hannema even foresaw that the Germans had their eyes on the collection and so he hid it, partly in Limburg and partly behind a quickly constructed false wall in the cellar. But the builders of the museum could hardly have foreseen that a group of cyclists, under the leadership of Bregje, would cycle through the museum. Nor could they have known about the current climate change.

The original drainage system simply cannot handle the monsoon-like storms that increasingly fall in and around Rotterdam. After such a storm, the cellars are flooded and you'll find museum director Sjarel Ex down there mopping the water. 'You get used to it,' says Ex to security guard Arie, who also lends a hand. But they are nevertheless concerned about the valuable Rotterdam art collection that is stored in the cellars.