Nov 1, 2013 11:45 AM

Gallery: A Museum Designed to Be Invisible Until You Look Down

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The Danish National Maritime Museum sits next to the Kronborg castle, just outside of Copenhagen. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*
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The museum used to be housed in the castle until the site became a UNESCO world heritage site, requiring the museum to move to a different location. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*

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The main challenge was ensuring that the museum remained totally underground while still being open and light. The solution was to build a series of bridges that act as gallery space and pathways through the museum. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*
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They decided to move the museum to a decommissioned dry dock, which hasn’t held any boats since the 1980s. *Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj*

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This stairway connects the dock to the city, making it an open space for the public. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*
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A series of 461 earth anchors (the little white cylinders you see) are at the base of the dock and hidden throughout the bottom of the museum. They go down 120 and anchor the museum to the soil. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*

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The zig zag bridge houses temporary exhibitions. The current one is about the making of the museum. *Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj*
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An anchor chain connects the floor to the ceiling, so in a way the floor you're walking on is hanging from the ceiling above you. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*

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Ingels said they wanted to make the museum as transparent as possible. *Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj*
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Looking through to the auditorium. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*

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The auditorium acts as a bridge connecting the adjacent culture yard with the Kronborg castle. *Image: Luca Santiago Mora*
Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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The childrens auditorium. *Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj*

Thijs Wolzak
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M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark, Elsinore
Exhibition space is housed underground in the loop. *Image: Thijs Wolzak*
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The architects wanted to create a seamless transition from inside to outside, as shown in the café. *Image: Rasmus Hjortshøj*

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