Bjarke Ingels Group create iconic roof for new cultural facility
Tenderstream member Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is set to transform a former supermarket into the new Museum for Paper Art in Blokhus, Denmark. With the form of art deeply rooted in Danish cultural heritage - including the iconic folded lampshades by Le Klint and H.C. Andersen's paper clips - the facility will double the current museum's annual number of visitors, while embracing working with paper as a distinct art form and field of expertise.
The museum was founded in 2018 by Karen Bit Vejle, who practices psaligraphy - the art of cutting silhouettes into paper. The approximately 900 sq m supermarket will be renovated and expanded by BIG into a 2300 sq m museum with space for workshops, events, teaching rooms, storage, and offices, with the overall adaptive reuse project pursuing DGNB Gold or Platinum certification.
Visitors will approach the museum along a meandering path populated with plants and trees native to the area. Inside, the focal point of the museum is reflected in the architecture, as surfaces are covered with a timber construction made from the same wood used to make paper. A new lightweight roof, reminiscent of a paper sheet, covers the existing building and creates space for the new functions around it. Current building walls will be covered by a new acoustic-regulating layer of paper art on the exterior, inspired by origami and designed in collaboration with several artists.
David Zahle, partner at BIG, stated: "In collaboration with Bit, we have designed a simple concept that allows a single sheet of paper to drape over the site and the existing building. In this way, the old and new are connected under one roof. In the foyer and assembly space, the old structure is clearly felt within the new one - a unified space inspired by paper and crafted in wood.”
Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research
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