The Refugee Museum of Denmark (FLUGT) has officially opened its doors after a formal inauguration ceremony in the presence of Queen Margrethe II. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and exhibition designer Tinker Imagineers are at the helm of the museum, which has opened on the site of Denmark’s largest refugee camp from the Second World War.
The new museum aims to share the stories of refugees worldwide, and portrays challenges through an exploration of archeology and the gathering of local historical knowledge. For BIG, which rethought and extended the camp’s original hospital building to create the new space, the project is its second for the museum’s operator Vardemuseerne, after the opening of the west coast of Denmark’s Tirpitz Museum.
‘The Refugee Museum of Denmark explores an important part of our history and a theme that is more relevant than ever, with millions of refugees currently displaced from their homes,’ says founding partner of BIG, Bjarke Ingels. ‘We have designed an architectural framework that connects the past with the present – with a new building directly shaped by its relationship to the historic hospital buildings of the Second World War refugee camp. We went into this project with all our heart, to address one of the world’s greatest challenges – how we welcome and care for our fellow world citizens when they are forced to flee. The project is a continuation of our collaboration on Tirpitz Museum with Vardemuseerne and [its museum director] Claus Kjeld Jensen, whose uncompromised design vision once again inspired our design for FLUGT.’
The two buildings that originally contained the former hospital are connected by soft curves, creating an undulating and welcome silhouette. An amalgamation of textures, from steel to the red bricks of the original hospital building and a curved wall of glass, imbues the space with a rich tactility.
‘FLUGT – Refugee Museum of Denmark will share and uncover the stories of the largest refugee camp in Denmark, as well as the story of the lived refugee experience of our time,’ adds Kjeld Jensen.
‘FLUGT seeks to give a voice and a face to humans who have been forced to flee their homes and capture the universal challenges, emotions and nuances shared by refugees then and today.’
INFORMATION
-
The first-ever lava lamp has been reissued, alongside a new giant versionThe manufacturer of the 1960s design icon presents a new, 3m-tall lava lamp, as well as a limited-edition take on the first ‘Astro’ lamp, in collaboration with Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis
-
These are the best design exhibitions to see in Paris this weekAs Design Miami Paris and Art Basel Paris make their return, we round up the best design exhibitions to discover in the city
-
Spice up the weekly shop at Mallorca’s brutalist supermarketIn this brutalist supermarket, through the use of raw concrete, monolithic forms and modular elements, designer Minimal Studio hints at a critique of consumer culture
-
Rains Amsterdam is slick and cocooning – a ‘store of the future’Danish lifestyle brand Rains opens its first Amsterdam flagship, marking its refined approach with a fresh flagship interior designed by Stamuli
-
Three lesser-known Danish modernist houses track the country’s 20th-century architectureWe visit three Danish modernist houses with writer, curator and architecture historian Adam Štěch, a delve into lower-profile examples of the country’s rich 20th-century legacy
-
Is slowing down the answer to our ecological challenges? Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 2025 thinks soCopenhagen’s inaugural Architecture Biennial, themed 'Slow Down', is open to visitors, discussing the world's ‘Great Acceleration’
-
This cathedral-like health centre in Copenhagen aims to boost wellbeing, empowering its usersDanish studio Dorte Mandrup's new Centre for Health in Copenhagen is a new phase in the evolution of Dem Gamles By, a historic care-focused district
-
This tiny church in Denmark is a fresh take on sacred spaceTiny Church Tolvkanten by Julius Nielsen and Dinesen unifies tradition with modernity in its raw and simple design, demonstrating how the church can remain relevant today
-
‘Stone, timber, silence, wind’: welcome to SMK Thy, the National Gallery of Denmark expansionA new branch of SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, opens in a tiny hamlet in the northern part of Jutland; welcome to architecture studio Reiulf Ramstad's masterful redesign of a neglected complex of agricultural buildings into a world-class – and beautifully local – art hub
-
Discover Bjarke Ingels, a modern starchitect of 'pragmatic utopian architecture'Discover the work of Bjarke Ingels, a modern-day icon and 'the embodiment of the second generation of global starchitects' – this is our ultimate guide to his work
-
George Lucas’ otherworldly Los Angeles museum is almost finished. Here’s a sneak peekArchitect Ma Yansong walks us through the design of the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open early next year
