Museum in the Dock – BIG Architects

The building of a new Museet for Søfart (Maritime Museum) in Elsinore, Denmark, represented a remarkable adventure in architecture, civil and structural engineering. The design by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is quite unlike any other museum in the world and proved immensely challenging to execute.

How does one breathe new life into an abandoned dry dock? BIG Architects have designed an extraordinary museum to revive Denmark’s proud maritime history.

The Danish Maritime Museum will fit into a unique historical and spatial context between one of Denmark’s most important buildings – the world-famous Kronborg Castle – and a new, ambitious cultural centre. In order to preserve the dock as an open outdoor space, BIG has placed the museum underground, just outside the wall of a dry dock in a formerly abandoned shipyard. In this subterranean position, the museum appears as part of the cultural environment, while at the same time standing as an independent institution. Through this extraordinary museum, BIG once again confirms its position as one of the world’s leading architectural offices.

Exhibitions by Kossman.dejong tell the story of Danish maritime history through engaging theatrical presentations. In text, photographs and architectural drawings, this book documents the story of how the museum came to occupy a once abandoned dry dock.