the herning museum of contemporary art by steven holl architects
image courtesy steven holl architects

the herning museum of contemporary art (HEART), designed by steven holl architects,
will open to the public on september 9, 2009 uniting three distinct cultural institutions:
the herning center of the arts, the midwest ensemble and the socle du monde.
the center is intended to be an innovative forum combining visual art and music,
providing a driving cultural force for the region of central jutland, denmark.

the landscape of grass mounds and reflecting pools aligns with a geometry of curved
roof sections in a new building that houses permanent and temporary exhibition galleries,
a 150-seat auditorium, music rehearsal rooms, a restaurant, a media library, and administrative
offices all on one level.

the galleries are orthogonal in plan and finely proportioned for art, while overhead
curved roof sections transport natural light into the spaces.

the galleries’ perimeter walls are load bearing elements, emphasizing these as 'treasure boxes'
in the museum, while internal gallery walls of lightweight construction are movable. floors of
integral color charcoal concrete unify the ground plane into a continuous patina with a wax finish.


the herning museum of contemporary art
image courtesy steven holl architects


the herning museum of contemporary art
image courtesy steven holl architects


the herning museum of contemporary art
image courtesy steven holl architects

fabric tarps were inserted into the formwork to yield a fabric texture to the building’s
exterior walls of white concrete.


the herning museum of contemporary art
image courtesy steven holl architects



the herning museum of contemporary art
image courtesy steven holl architects