Caruso St John Architects

2005
Location: Herning, Sweden
Project Status: Competition

Caruso St John were invited to take part in this international competition for a new House of Art at Herning Kunstmuseum in Denmark. The new building is to accommodate the institution’s collections of work by Danish and foreign artists and the the Socle du Monde art biennial.

In our scheme, the House of Art has the potential to be a new kind of public building. It can have all of the generosity and energy of a vital institution at the same time as challenging the community’s relationship with its public realm. Our project is ‘of its place’ but also stands apart from the surrounding campus. The structure of the museum is like the excavated walls of an ancient settlement, more profoundly engaged with the materials and deep networks of the site than the light buildings that surround the site.

In such a flat and open place there is a potential to make an extensive and open-ended building that generously engages its surroundings. This openness can also deliver the multidisciplinary program and social ambitions of the House of Art. In our project, territorial planning and the design of a room both contribute to the formation of a strong overall atmosphere. The museum is like a small settlement and also like a palace.