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.

steven holl architects: HEART, denmark the herning museum of contemporary art image courtesy steven holl architects

steven holl architects: HEART, denmark the herning museum of contemporary art image courtesy steven holl architects

steven holl architects: HEART, denmark 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.

steven holl architects: HEART, denmark the herning museum of contemporary art image courtesy steven holl architects

steven holl architects: HEART, denmark the herning museum of contemporary art image courtesy steven holl architects