bjarke ingels group: blaavand bunker museum

‘blåvand bunker museum’ by bjarke ingels group depicted is the glass and wireframe re-creation where gun barrells function as telescopes offering views over the north sea

danish firm BIG has been commissioned by varde city and vicinity to develop the blåvand bunker museum. situated within the protected shorelands of blåvand in denmark, the structure will be embedded within the site’s earthen embankment – built by german forces occupying denmark during world war II – and is adjacent to the existing tirpitz bunker, merging with the landscape of the western jutland.

the future museum will be composed of four main volumes – three museums and one special exhibitions gallery. each one will function independently. they will have their own individual opening hours, but collectively seen as one larger entity with the possibility to circulate and communicate between the various units. the structures’ integration into its environment is achieved by four simple cuts made into the topography of the land which form a central courtyard between the four masses. these are separated paths which connect back to the existing network of trails in the dune countryside.

as the 2,500 square meter space is embedded into the terrain one enters via the upper level’s central courtyard through the café. a common foyer is located in the centre of the exhibition venues which sits within the four lower level galleries. each of the walls which face in towards this communal area have a slightly rotated side which ultimately serve as support functions – toilets, cloakroom and storage – between each space. this slight turn of the structural partitions results in four corner skylights which bring daylight into the open atrium while also offering access to the museum galleries. visitors are guided into the lower level by a staircase which fits neatly into one of the rotated sides. an underground tunnel connects to the nearby old tirpitz bunker, where a glass and wireframe re-creation of the original gun turret is placed on top instead of housing munitions. the gun barrels function as a telescope giving patrons a view out over the north sea nearby.

the upper level and central courtyard

café

view of one of the museum galleries

a stairway leads into the lower level

foyer

winding central staircase leading into the tirpitz bunker

the museum is embedded into the site

rendering of the museum, parking lot and surrounding landscape

view of the tirpitz bunker in proximity to the museum

model visualization of the site by night

model of the museum site and topographical landscape

model (aerial view)

model (ground view)

model of the tirpitz bunker

model (general view)

exploded diagram of the tirpitz bunker makeover

project info:

partner in charge: bjarke ingels, jakob lange, david zahle, andreas klok pedersen project leader: brian yang team: alina tomosiunaite, katarzyna siedlecka, ryohei koike