courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation will be donating the necessary funding to build BIG's BLÅVAND BUNKER MUSEUM in Varde, on the west coast of Denmark.

Transforming a former German WWII bunker, within the protected shorelands of Blåvand in Denmark, the 2,500m2 (ca. 27,000 ft2) new museum will be composed of four main volumes, housing four independent institutions: a bunker museum, an amber museum, a history museum and a special exhibitions gallery – within an exhibition landscape carved out of the dunes.

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

Contrary to the existing closed concrete lump, the new museum will, in its architecture, function as an open heart integrated into the landscape. The museum is in every way the opposite of the militant history with its more closed, dark and heavy features. Organized around an open central square, the galleries allow much light and will give magnificent views to the surrounding countryside. The bunker is a war machine without holes for doors and windows and rejects all humanity. In contrast, the museum is integrated into the landscape and invites visitors inside.

Bjarke Ingels

We wanted a museum that was fully integrated into the landscape while at the same time being architecturally outstanding – functional, spectacular and invisible. BIG has created a harmonious and beautiful building that stands out in enormous contrast to the brutal Tirpitz bunker (adjacent to the new Museum), yet the design pays respect to the unique dune landscape. It is a fantastic place where we will be able to convey the big stories of Jutland. Thanks to the generous donation from the A.P. Møller Foundation this now becomes a reality.

Claus Kjeld Jensen, director of the Museum of Varde City and District

The new museum will be a cultural landmark attracting tourists to Varde as well as benefitting business in the region. I am deeply grateful to the A. P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for this donation as it will contribute greatly for future generations to have access to knowledge about the history of Denmark.

Mayor Gylling Haahr

The Blåvand Bunker museum contributes further to BIG's experience with museum design – playfully integrating landscape with cultural programs while preserving historic value and the natural environment. BIG recently completed the Danish National Maritime Museum in which crucial historic elements are integrated with an innovative concept of galleries. Other current cultural projects include the LEGO House in Billund, MECA Cultural Center in Bordeaux, France, Kimball Art Centre in Park City, Utah, USA, and the recently won competition for the new Human Body Museum in Montpellier, France.

+ All images and drawings courtesy BIG

courtesy Agence SML

How to fit a 1-bedroom apartment into an atypical high and narrow volume, the roof being the only possible source of daylight? This is the question to which Clemence Eliard and Marc Sirvin – architects at Agence SML – had to find answers to to create this surprising apartment.

courtesy Agence SML

The unusual layout of this apartment resulted from merging several batches acquired over the years, located at different stories of the building. The owner, who had been living there for some time, desired to restructure the volume and create a home office.

courtesy Agence SML

The architects envisioned the space as a tower in which each level would have its proper function: the bathroom in the basement, the kitchen-living-room at ground level, the home-office and dressing-room on the 1st floor and the bedroom higher up on the 2nd floor. These functions being all linked together by alternating tread stairs, daylight coming through a full height void. The ground floor, located in the back of a courtyard and previously lit in second day, would thus become an illuminated space thanks to the skylights.

courtesy Agence SML

The apartment on 4 levels has a surface area of 25 square meters.

All details have been thought of in order to optimize space and maximize light: the alternating tread stairs have a limited footprint and remain practical in spite of their steepness. Carpentry and closets are integrated, the bedroom is nested at the very top of the tower, the office floor is a metal grid so that light can flow through it.

While conceiving of this unusual apartment, the architects were guided by simplicity and minimalism: all surfaces are painted white, and metalwork contrasts sharply with the raw wood of the carpentry.

+ All image courtesy Agence SML