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    • 08 May 2015

      Proposal for Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-45

      Henning Larsen was among the five finalists who competed to design the Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-45.

    • Henning Larsen's proposal builds upon the ambition of creating the strongest presence with minimum intervention.

      The proposal intensifies and strengthens the existing qualities of the Churchill Park through a simple, transparent pavilion with a concrete core. The foyer and café are placed behind the glass façade, which smoothes the transition from outside to inside. A broad staircase leads down to the extensive subterranean exhibition hall where most of the collection is housed.

      The large exhibition hall offers the curators of the museum maximum of flexibility. The exhibitions can be organised in an open environment with podiums and screen walls to fully use the space or in a series of smaller, closed exhibitions rooms by using temporary walls.

      The core contains the museum’s service functions such as reception desk, cloakroom, auditorium, etc. The surface of the core reflects daylight down into the central orientation area in the exhibition hall. The indirect natural lighting contributes to the park like character of the museum, bringing the play of light and shadow from the surrounding trees deep into the space. At night, the pavilion changes its character and appears as a torch in the landscape.  

      The jury report highlights the proposal for its generous use of daylight and varied interior volumes of double and triple height. The design of the building’s crystal-like façades is described as a “delicate, exclusive solution.” Furthermore, the jury noted the gentle integration of the building in the city with a particularly successful focus on the visual contact along predetermined sight lines.

      The Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-45 will replace a former museum building, which unfortunately burned down in April 2013. The new museum will be situated in the same site by Esplanaden and the Churchill Park in Copenhagen and within the footprint of the original museum.

      Henning Larsen Architects developed the proposal in cooperation with Schul Landskabsarkitekter and HaCaFrø/Tyrens.