Located on the site of Denmark’s largest World War II refugee camp, the new Refugee Museum of Denmark, FLUGT, tells the stories of refugees from the camp as well as refugees worldwide.
At 1,600 square meters (about 17,220 square feet), the museum was designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and exhibition designers Tinker Imagineers. Together, they adapted and extended one of the camp’s few remaining structures—a hospital—into the museum.
“FLUGT seeks to give a voice and a face to humans who have been forced to flee their homes and capture the universal challenges, emotions, and nuances shared by refugees then and today,” Claus Kjeld Jensen, museum director, said in a statement.
The former hospital comprises two long buildings. BIG connected the two structures by adding a soft curve-shaped volume, which serves as a welcoming structure and creates 500 square meters (about 5,380 square feet) of additional museum space. From the outside, the volume welcomes visitors into a seemingly closed entry hall. But inside, a floor-to-ceiling curved glass wall reveals a sheltered green courtyard and the forest, where the refugee camp used to be. From the entry hall, which functions as a lobby or a temporary exhibition space, guests continue to one of the museum wings.
The north wing’s exhibition area contains gallery spaces organized according to the hospital’s original flow. The south wing includes a flexible conference room, smaller exhibition spaces, cafe, and back-of-house functions.
“We went into this project with all our heart to address one of the world’s greatest challenges—how we welcome and care for our fellow world citizens when they are forced to flee,” Bjarke Ingels, founding partner, BIG, said in the statement.
Related Stories
Museums | Nov 4, 2015
George Lucas museum design by MAD Architects finally gets green light
The project will go ahead with its revised, smaller-scale design.
Museums | Oct 22, 2015
Kengo Kuma’s design for cultural museum in the Philippines evokes prehistoric cave feel
The Museum of Indigenous Knowledge in Manila, will house over 4,000 years of history.
Museums | Oct 20, 2015
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman Wilson House finds new home at Arkansas museum
Crystal Bridges Museum reconstructed the 61-year-old Usonian house and will open it to the public in November.
Museums | Oct 16, 2015
Renzo Piano will turn century-old Moscow power plant into art gallery
The idea is to take the GES2 power station, which was built between 1904 and 1907, and turn it into an exhibition space for the V-A-C Foundation, a Russian art organization.
Museums | Oct 6, 2015
Columbus Museum of Art to open new wing at month's end
Created by the DesignGroup, the Margaret M. Walter Wing is part of a $36.7 million renovation project.
Museums | Sep 29, 2015
Designs unveiled for Warsaw Art Museum and Theatre
Emphasizing the building’s role in the public sphere, the museum will be accessible from all sides.
Museums | Sep 22, 2015
David Adjaye releases plans for Ruby City art gallery in San Antonio
San Antonio's Ruby City will hold 800 works of art in 10,000 sf of exhibition space.
Museums | Sep 21, 2015
Ma Yansong and Jeanne Gang revise Chicago lakefront Lucas Museum
New renderings of the proposed Lucas Museum show a scaled-down building on more green space.
Museums | Sep 16, 2015
First look: Diller Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad museum in Los Angeles
LA's newest art museum combines gallery space and collection storage based around two design concepts: the veil and the vault.
Museums | Sep 9, 2015
Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners
The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.
