PROJECT DETAILS

PROJECT NAME
Danish National Maritime Museum
LOCATION
Helsingør ,
Denmark
ARCHITECT
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
CLIENT/OWNER
Helsingør Municipality, Helsingør Maritime Museum
PROJECT TYPES
Cultural
SIZE
77,500 sq. feet
YEAR COMPLETED
2013
AWARDS
2014 ARCHITECT Annual Design Review
SHARED BY
Sara Johnson ,
Hanley Wood Media
PROJECT STATUS
Built

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

The Danish Maritime Museum is located in a unique historic and spatial context: between one of
Denmark’s most important and famous buildings the Kronborg Castle and the Culture Yard - a
new, ambitious cultural center. BIG proposed to place the museum underground, just outside the
wall of the dock in order to preserve the dock as an open, outdoor display, maintaining the
powerful structure as the center of the Maritime Museum. By placing the museum this way, it
appears as part of the cultural environment associated with the Kronborg castle and the
neighboring Culture Yard, while at the same time manifesting itself as an independent
institution. The dock creates a museum space as a cohesive floor plan which discreetly becomes
lower and lower across the entire museum length. Simple accessibility ramps and bridges are
added, cutting through the dock in a structural and sculptural way.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

Rather than filling the empty dock, BIG chose to repurpose it as a public courtyard at the centre
of the new museum, then added a series of bridges that cut into the 60-year-old walls.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

Located in the surrounds of Kronborg Castle, which dates back to the fifteenth century, the
Danish Maritime Museum forms part of the Kulturhavn Kronborg initiative - an effort to bring
cultural attractions to Helsingør's harbour.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

The museum's underground galleries present the story of Denmark's maritime history up to the
present day, contained within a two-storey rectangular structure that encases the dry dock.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

"By wrapping the old dock with the museum program we simultaneously preserve the heritage
structure, while transforming it to a courtyard bringing daylight and air in to the heart of the
submerged museum," said Bjarke Ingels, the founding partner of BIG.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

The architect also emphasises that the presence of the dock allows the museum to be visible,
without impacting on views towards the adjacent castle.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

"Out of respect for Hamlet's Castle we needed to remain completely invisible and underground,
but to be able to attract visitors we needed a strong public presence," he said. "Leaving the dock
as an urban abyss provides the museum with an interior facade facing the void and at the same
time offers the citizens of Helsingør a new public space sunken eight metres below the level of
the sea."
 Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

A trio of double-level bridges span the dock. The first run directly across, forming an extension
of the harbour promenade, while the second and third lead visitors gradually down to the
museum's entrance.

Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj
An auditorium is contained inside one, while the others form extensions of the galleries, which
were put together by exhibition designers Kossmann.Dejong.

Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

KiBiSi, the design studio co-run by Ingels, created a collection of street furniture to line the edge
of the site, arranged as dots and dashes to resemble Morse code.

Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj
BIG won a competition to design the museum in 2007. It officially opened to the public earlier
this month.

Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

Here's some more information from BIG:

BIG completes the Danish National Maritime Museum

BIG with Kossmann.dejong+Rambøll+Freddy Madsen+KiBiSi have completed the Danish
National Maritime Museum in Helsingør. By marrying the crucial historic elements with an
innovative concept of galleries and way-finding, BIG's renovation scheme reflects Denmark's
historical and contemporary role as one of the world's leading maritime nations.
 Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj

The new Danish National Maritime Museum is located in Helsingør, just 50 km (30 mi.) north of
Copenhagen and 10 km (6.5 mi.) from the world famous Louisiana Museum for Modern Art.

Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

The new 6,000 m² (65,000 ft²) museum finds itself in a unique historical context adjacent to one
of Denmark's most important buildings, Kronborg Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site -
known from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is the last addition to Kulturhavn Kronborg, a joint effort
involving the renovation of the Castle and two new buildings – offering a variety of culture
experiences to residents and visitors to Helsingør.

Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

Leaving the 60 year old dock walls untouched, the galleries are placed below ground and
arranged in a continuous loop around the dry dock walls - making the dock the centrepiece of the
exhibition - an open, outdoor area where visitors experience the scale of ship building.

Photograph by Rasmus
Hjortshøj
A series of three double-level bridges span the dry dock, serving both as an urban connection, as
well as providing visitors with short-cuts to different sections of the museum. The harbour bridge
closes off the dock while serving as harbour promenade; the museum's auditorium serves as a
bridge connecting the adjacent Culture Yard with the Kronborg Castle; and the sloping zig-zag
bridge navigates visitors to the main entrance. This bridge unites the old and new as the visitors
descend into the museum space overlooking the majestic surroundings above and below ground.
The long and noble history of the Danish Maritime unfolds in a continuous motion within and
around the dock, 7 metres (23 ft.) below the ground. All floors - connecting exhibition spaces
with the auditorium, classroom, offices, café and the dock floor within the museum - slope gently
creating exciting and sculptural spaces.

Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

Bjarke Ingels: "By wrapping the old dock with the museum program we simultaneously preserve
the heritage structure while transforming it to a courtyard bringing daylight and air in to the heart
of the submerged museum. Turning the dock inside out resolved a big dilemma; out of respect
for Hamlet's Castle we needed to remain completely invisible and underground – but to be able
to attract visitors we needed a strong public presence. Leaving the dock as an urban abyss
provides the museum with an interior façade facing the void and at the same time offers the
citizens of Helsingør a new public space sunken 8 m (16 ft.) below the level of the sea."
 Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

KiBiSi has designed the above ground bench system. The granite elements are inspired by ship
bollards and designed as a constructive barrier that prevents cars from driving over the edge. The
system is a soft shaped bench for social hangout and based on Morse code - dots and dashes
writing a hidden message for visitors to crack.
 Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

The exhibition was designed by the Dutch exhibition design office Kossmann.dejong. The
metaphor that underpins the multimedia exhibition is that of a journey, which starts with an
imagining of the universal yearning to discover far away shores and experience adventures at
sea. Denmark's maritime history, up to the current role of the shipping industry globally, is told
via a topical approach, including notions such as harbour, navigation, war and trade. The
exhibition has been made accessible for a broad audience through the intertwining of many
different perspectives on the shipping industry.
 Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

David Zahle, Partner-in-Charge: "For 5 years we have been working on transforming the old
concrete dock into a modern museum, which required an archaeologist care and spacecraft
designer's technical skills. The old lady is both fragile and tough; the new bridges are light and
elegant. Building a museum below sea level has taken construction techniques never used in
Denmark before. The old concrete dock with its 1.5 m thick walls and 2.5 m thick floor has been
cut open and reassembled as a modern and precise museum facility. The steel bridges were
produced in giant sections on a Chinese steel wharf and transported to Denmark on the biggest
ship that has ever docked in Helsingør. The steel sections weigh up to 100 tons a piece and are
lifted on site by the two largest mobile cranes in northern Europe. I am truly proud of the work
our team has carried out on this project and of the final result."
 Photograph by Luca
Santiago Mora

On Saturday October 5, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, cut the ribbon to mark the grand
opening. The new Danish National Maritime Museum is open to the public for outdoor activities,
exhibitions and events, making the museum a cultural hub in the region throughout the year.

Concept diagram one

Concept diagram two

Concept diagram three

 Concept diagram four

Site plan - click for larger

image Ground floor plan -

click for larger image
Basement level one - click for larger image

Basement level two - click

for larger image Long
section - click for larger image

Long section two - click

for larger image