Eco-designed Moesgaard Museum opens at new location
Denmark’s Moesgaard Museum – which is dedicated to the country’s archaeology and ethnography – has reopened after its collection of artefacts was moved a short distance across the city of Aarhus into a new £41m (US$66m, €52m) home.
The museum’s Managing Director, Jan Skamby Madsen, wanted a new site that would “give three generations a shared museum experience.” He assembled a team of designers, architects and scientists to make the space as innovative and sensory as possible.
The most striking feature of the 16,000sq m (172,223sq ft) building – designed by Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects - is the unusual sloped grass roof, which from a distance appears to grow out of the natural landscape. It provides a view of the surrounding forest from the top and will be used by the public for summer picnics and winter sledging.
The museum has three separate sections of differing height. They contain gallery space, an auditorium, conference rooms, a café and a gift shop. The architects said: “The building is designed like a varied terraced landscape inspired by archaeological excavations, gradually unearthing the layers of history and exposing lost cities, allowing the visitor to move through a vivid sequence of exhibitions and scientific experiments – like a traveller in time and space.”
External foundations have provided £7.4m (US$12m, €9.4m) in funding to upgrade the exhibitions, including one featuring the world’s best-preserved bog body - the Iron Age ‘Grauballe Man’.
The relocation of the museum was partly funded by Aarhus University, which now occupies the museum’s old home, Moesgaard Manor. The Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the municipal government and five private foundations have also provided financial backing for the construction and management of the new site.
Aarhus Island designs revealed by Bjarke Ingels
Danish airport warned to drop tax favours for Ryanair
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Designing an eco hotel for the Galapagos Islands that allowed the stunning natural surroundings to take centre stage while minimising its impact on the land presented its own unique set of challenges, Ecuadorian architect Humberto Plaza tells Kathryn Hudson