Sono gli spazi obsoleti, le fabbriche in disuso, i magazzini vuoti i lacerti di binari ferroviari non più in uso. E, tra gli altri, i vecchi dock portuali. Ora BIG, giovane ma già affermatissimo studio di progettazione danese, ha ristrutturato i magazzini del vecchio porto di Helsingør, località a una sessantina di chilometri da Copenaghen, rinomata per il suo castello, ove Shakespeare ambientò il suo “Amleto”, per farne il nuovo Museo del Mare.
Si tratta di un’operazione che ha antecedenti illustri, quali la trasformazione dei dock londinesi, tra i quali si è insediata con grande successo la Tate Modern, o la tistrutturazione di tutto il waterfront di Buenos Aires che ha fatto del vecchio Puerto Madero un nuovo quartiere sia residenziale sia culturale per la capitale argentina.
Qui in Danimarca il nuovo museo rievoca la antica vocazione marinara del paese che ebbe i usoi momenti più gloriosi con la Lega Anseatica, l’alleanza commerciale promossa dai mercanti che operavano sul mare, che diede vita tra basso medio evo e rinascimento, a diversi nuove (per allora) realtà urbane: da Stoccolma a Danzica. Città che sono rimaste come punti di riferimento per tutta l’area scandinava e nord europea.
La riconquista degli spazi urbani è oggi all’ordine del giorno: da quando è chiaro che la popolazione urbana nel mondo ha superato quella rurale, le città hanno acquisito un nuovo “status”, e sono destinate a crescere sempre più di peso e di importanza. Più o meno com’era all’epoca della Lega Anseatica, a volta soverchiando l’importanza degli stati. In tale contesto, esempi come questo, in cui l’architettura diventa protagonista di una revisione di ambienti funzionali che hanno perso la loro ragion d’essere originaria, sono di notevole importanza. Per alimentare il dibattito e le proposte riguardo al futuro degli spazi urbani, in un nuovo equilibrio tra il passato industriale e il futuro che sarà sempre più culturale, scientifico e tecnologico.
Ecco che stazioni dismesse, fabbriche abbandonate, magazzini deserti sono la nuova frontiera dello sviluppo, delle città cui si chiede di mantenere la propria identità, ma nel mondo della comunicazione globale.
Leonardo Servadio
BIG COMPLETES THE DANISH NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM
BIG with Kossmann.dejong+Rambøll+Freddy Madsen+KiBiSi have completed the Danish National Maritime Museum in Helsingør. By marrying the crucial historic elements with an innovative concept of galleries and way-finding, BIG’s renovation scheme reflects Denmark’s historical and contemporary role as one of the world’s leading maritime nations.
The new Danish National Maritime Museum is located in Helsingør, just 50 km (30 mi.) north of Copenhagen and 10 km (6.5 mi.) from the world famous Louisiana Museum for Modern Art. The new 6,000 m² (65,000 ft²) museum finds itself in a unique historical context adjacent to one of Denmark’s most important buildings, Kronborg Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site – known from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It is the last addition to Kulturhavn Kronborg, a joint effort involving the renovation of the Castle and two new buildings – offering a variety of culture experiences to residents and visitors to Helsingør.
Leaving the 60 year old dock walls untouched, the galleries are placed below ground and arranged in a continuous loop around the dry dock walls – making the dock the centerpiece of the exhibition – an open, outdoor area where visitors experience the scale of ship building.
A series of three double-level bridges span the dry dock, serving both as an urban connection, as well as providing visitors with short-cuts to different sections of the museum. The harbor bridge closes off the dock while serving as harbor promenade; the museum’s auditorium serves as a bridge connecting the adjacent Culture Yard with the Kronborg Castle; and the sloping zig-zag bridge navigates visitors to the main entrance. This bridge unites the old and new as the visitors descend into the museum space overlooking the majestic surroundings above and below ground. The long and noble history of the Danish Maritime unfolds in a continuous motion within and around the dock, 7 meters (23 ft.) below the ground. All floors – connecting exhibition spaces with the auditorium, classroom, offices, café and the dock floor within the museum – slope gently creating exciting and sculptural spaces.
Bjarke Ingels: “By wrapping the old dock with the museum program we simultaneously preserve the heritage structure while transforming it to a courtyard bringing daylight and air in to the heart of the submerged museum. Turning the dock inside out resolved a big dilemma: Out of respect for Hamlet’s Castle we needed to remain completely invisible and underground – but to be able to attract visitors we needed a strong public presence. Leaving the dock as an urban abyss provides the museum with an interior façade facing the void and at the same time offers the citizens of Helsingør a new public space sunken 8 m (16 ft.) below the level of the sea.”
KiBiSi has designed the above ground bench system. The granite elements are inspired by ship bollards and designed as a constructive barrier that prevents cars from driving over the edge. The system is a soft shaped bench for social hangout and based on Morse code – dots and dashes writing a hidden message for visitors to crack.
The exhibition was designed by the Dutch exhibition design office Kossmann.dejong. The metaphor that underpins the multimedia exhibition is that of a journey, which starts with an imagining of the universal yearning to discover far away shores and experience adventures at sea. Denmark’s maritime history, up to the current role of the shipping industry globally, is told via a topical approach, including notions such as harbor, navigation, war and trade. The exhibition has been made accessible for a broad audience through the intertwining of many different perspectives on the shipping industry.
David Zahle, Partner-in-Charge: ”For 5 years we have been working on transforming the old concrete dock into a modern museum, which required an archaeologist care and spacecraft designer’s technical skills. The old lady is both fragile and tough; the new bridges are light and elegant. Building a museum below sea level has taken construction techniques never used in Denmark before. The old concrete dock with its 1.5 m thick walls and 2.5 m thick floor has been cut open and reassembled as a modern and precise museum facility. The steel bridges were produced in giant sections on a Chinese steel wharf and transported to Denmark on the biggest ship that has ever docked in Helsingør. The steel sections weigh up to 100 tons a piece and are lifted on site by the two largest mobile cranes in northern Europe. I am truly proud of the work our team has carried out on this project and of the final result.”
On Saturday October 5, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, cut the ribbon to mark the grand opening. The new Danish National Maritime Museum is open to the public for outdoor activities, exhibitions and events, making the museum a cultural hub in the region throughout the year.
About BIG
BIG – is a leading international partnership of architects, designers, builders and thinkers operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development. BIG is led by partners – Bjarke Ingels, Andreas Klok Pedersen, Finn Nørkjær, David Zahle, Jakob Lange, Thomas Christoffersen and Managing Partners, Sheela Maini Søgaard and Kai-Uwe Bergmann – with offices in Copenhagen and New York. In all our actions we try to move the focus from the little details to the BIG picture. www.big.dk
About the Danish Maritime Museum
The Danish Maritime Museum (Danish: Handels- og Søfartsmuseet), operated by a private foundation since 1915, is currently located at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. Its collections cover Danish trade and shipping from 1400 to the present day. Address: Kronborg 1, 3000 Helsingor, Denmark www.mfs.dk
BIG CREDIT LIST
Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle
Project leader: David Zahle
Site architect: Jeppe Ecklon
Team: Alina Tamosiunaite, Alysen Hiller, Ana Merino, Andy Yu , Annette Jensen, Ariel Joy Norback Wallner, Christian Alvarez, Claudio Moretti, Dennis Rasmussen, Felicia Guldberg, Gül Ertekin, Henrik Kania, Jan Magasanik, Johan Cool, John Pries Jensen, Jonas Pattern, Karsten Hammer Hansen, Kirstine Ragnhild, Malte Chloe, Marc Jay, Maria Mavriku, Masatoshi Oka, Oana Simionescu, Pablo Labra, Peter Rieff, Qianyi Lim, Rasmus Pedersen, Rasmus Rodam, Rune Hansen, Sara Sosio, Sebastian Latz, Tina Lund Højgaard, Tina Troster, Todd Bennet, Xi Chen, Xing Xiong, Xu Li
COLLABORATORS
Alectia (client consultant), Kossmann.dejong (exhibition designers), Rambøll (structure, MEP), Freddy Madsen Ingeniører (fire consultant), KiBiSi (product design)
CLIENT: Maritime Museum Build
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