FLUGT - REFUGEE MUSEUM OF DENMARK

Locatedat the site of Denmark s largest Refugee camp from World War II, FLUGT, gives avoice and a face to refugees worldwide and captures the universal challenges,emotions,spiritand stories shared by displaced humans. FLUGTis BIG s second museum forVardemuseerne: a local institution dedicatedtoarchaeology, dissemination, and collection of historical knowledgeabout the region. BIG has adapted and extended one of the camp s fewremaining structures a hospital building into a 1,600 m2 museum. Atits peak, the camp became the fifth-largest city of Denmark at the time. Today,little of the camp inOksbølremains, but the story of arriving atthe doorstep of a new country is asrelevant as ever. The formerhospital, which is transformed into FLUGT, is comprised of two elongatedbuildings. BIG has connected the two buildings architecturally and historicallyby adding a soft curve-shaped volume which brings 500 m2 of additional space tothe museum and creates a welcoming structure, visible from afar. Thecurve is gently pulled towards the street to create an inviting arrival momentfor the museum visitors. Clad in Corten steel, the structure feels at homealong the red bricks of the former hospital buildings. From outside, theabstract volume welcomes visitorsinto what appears to be a closed entryhall. Upon entering, a floor-to-ceiling curved glass wall reveals a view of asheltered green courtyard and the forest, where the refugee camp used to be. The courtyard lets light flow into the entry hall that functions as a lobby ora temporary exhibition space for guests to experience before continuing theirjourney into one of the museum wings. Theexhibition area in the north wing contains gallery spaces organized accordingto the original flow/circulation in the hospital. While most of the hospitalroom walls were torn down, some of the inside walls are kept intact andstabilized by three cross sections, creating larger exhibition spaces. Thesouth wing features a flexible conference room, smaller exhibition spaces,cafe, and back of house functions with the same character and materiality as inthe north wing: white walls and intersections covered in white painted woodboards oriented according to the angle ceiling line, as well as yellow bricksacross the entire museum floor, connecting past and present structures. Inaddition to preserving and reusing the hospital buildings for historical value,extending the lifespan of the existing structures supports BIG s mission ofreducing waste, conserving resources, and creating a smaller carbon footprintas it relates to materials manufacturing and transport. Thecourtyard designed by BIG Landscapecreates a peaceful sensory experienceinside the museum as well as outside. Asmall mirror pool in the heart ofthe courtyard reflects the sky above it. Around the basin, heath planting knownfrom the region emphasizes the identity of the area. Visitors leave the museumhaving experienced a part of an important place in Danish history, with a newperspective on the refugee experience. PROJECTDATA Name:FLUGT- REFUGEE MUSEUM OF DENMARK Code:FLUGT Date:25/06/2022. Program:Culture Status:Completed Sizein m2:1600 Projecttype:Commission