After a thorough evaluation, the five teams that will participate in the architectural competition for designing the new Viking Ship Museum have been selected.
The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum, together with its advisers and Roskilde Municipality, stated that the evaluation process was long and thorough and that all applications had been reviewed and assessed.
"We are overwhelmed by the great interest we have seen from both Danish and international design studios, and we have had to make a number of difficult choices in the selection of the five teams that will now participate in the architectural competition to create the framework for the future Viking Ship Museum," Viking Ship Museum director Tinna Damgård-Sørensen recently noted, according to the museum's website.
"We are now faced with an exciting competition, where the five selected teams must put forward their bid on how the Viking Ship Museum can be developed and transformed - and not least fulfill the vision that the new Viking Ship Museum is a role model in international, cultural-historical, and sustainable museum construction," the museum director stated.
The five teams selected are (listed in alphabetical order):
- 3XN A/S with E+N architects, SLA A/S and GXN A/S
- CF Møller Danmark A/S with Snøhetta Oslo AS
- Dorte Mandrup A/S with Over Byen Arkitekter ApS and Vogt Landscape Architects AG
- Foster + Partners with Mikkelsen Arkitekter A/S and Schønherr A/S
- Lundgaard and Tranberg Arkitekter A/S with Christoffer Harlang Architects ApS and Marianne Levinsen Landskab ApS
Engineering and consultancy
The five selected teams must each also engage an engineering company and consultancy within the exhibition design domain to prepare the competition proposal.
The new museum's vision, goals, design criteria, and requirements are described in a competition program.
The final winner of the architectural competition is expected to be published in December 2023.
Key facts about the project
The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is to be further developed and transformed. The museum's five original Viking ships – which are part of the world's cultural heritage and of unique national importance – can no longer be secured in the existing Viking Ship Hall, where they are threatened by storm surges and degraded by daylight.
Therefore, a new Viking Ship Museum must be constructed with a new future-proof exhibition building that will be able to store the five Viking ships.
According to stakeholders, the new museum needs to be of high architectural and experiential quality that vividly and actively conveys the history of the Viking Age, ships, seafaring, and boat-building culture.
Reconstructions of these five clinker-built boats, as well as the originals, take pride of place at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark. Photo: auralaura / Shutterstock
The museum must balance a visible architectural identity with a close reading and interpretation of the site – on the edge between the fjord and the city. Buildings, contents, and the location must be experienced as a whole.
Architecture, interior design, communication, and landscape must, in interaction with the existing active harbor, create an ideal setting to bring the story of how the Vikings changed the world with their ships to life.
Sustainability-centered project
According to the Roskilde Viking Ship Museum website, the new museum must also be a leading example of future-proof museum construction with a clear focus on innovative sustainability.
As part of the early design process, variant studies and Life Cycle Analyzes (LCA) must show strategies to minimize emissions.
New construction must also satisfy criteria for sustainability, which are listed in the competition program.
Financing
Most of the funding for the new "Viking Ship Museum" has been secured by donations from the VILLUM FONDEN, the Augustinus Foundation, the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansens Foundation, as well as Roskilde Municipality and the Danish state.
The Viking Ship Museum is in dialogue to secure additional funds related to the last part of the financing of the overall project.
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