BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group has been commissioned to transform a former supermarket building into the new Museum for Paper Art in the North Jutland region, north of Denmark.

With paper art deeply rooted in the Danish cultural heritage, including the iconic folded lampshades by Le Klint and H.C. Andersen's paper clips, the conversion and extension of the building intends to double the museum's annual number of visitors as well as embrace paper as an art form and expertise. 

The proposal designed by BIG for the new Museum for Paper Art, founded by psaligrapher Bit Vejle in 2018, will be the only specialised museum for paper fine crafts and design in the Nordics. The approximately 900 m² former supermarket building will be renovated and expanded by BIG to create a 2,300 m² museum with space for workshops, events, teaching rooms, storage, and office facilities. The adaptive reuse project is pursuing DGNB Gold or Platinum certification.

The Museum for Paper Art is conceived as a new lightweight roof structure. Like a single sheet of paper, the roof lands on the existing building and creates space for the new functions around it - uniting the new and old under one roof. The existing building walls will get a new acoustic-regulating layer of paper art on the exterior, inspired by origami and designed in collaboration with several paper artists.

Visualización. De antiguo supermercado a nuevo museo de arte en papel de BIG. Imagen de Wizarch

Rendering. From Former Supermarket to New Museum for Paper Art by BIG. Image by Wizarch.

“Paper art is about creating three-dimensional shapes and complex images from a monochromatic two-dimensional material - a sheet of paper. By treating the roof surface as such - a single sheet of folded paper - existing and new functions are brought together in one unifying gesture. The expressive is accentuated by the clear, complexity arises from simplicity. And an obsolete supermarket finds new life under the floating curved roof."

Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group.

Inside, the focal point of the museum is reflected in the architecture as surfaces are draped with a timber construction made from the wood that is used to make paper.  

Visualización. De antiguo supermercado a nuevo museo de arte en papel de BIG. Imagen de Wizarch.  Rendering. From Former Supermarket to New Museum for Paper Art by BIG. Image by Wizarch.

Rendering. From Former Supermarket to New Museum for Paper Art by BIG. Image by Wizarch.

"In collaboration with Bit, we have designed a simple concept that allows a single sheet of paper to drape over the site and the existing building. In this way, the old and new are connected under one roof. In the foyer and assembly space, the old structure is clearly felt within the new one - a unified space inspired by paper and crafted in wood.” 

David Zahle, Partner, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group.

The Museum for Paper Art will offer spaces for a variety of public activities. A meandering path with plants and trees native to the area will invite the public to explore the surroundings and create a welcoming public realm to pull the visitors into the museum.

More information

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Architects
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BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. Partner-in-Charge.- Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle.
Project Leader.- Tomas Ramstrand.

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Project team
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Mantas Povilaika, Neele Maree Ohlrogge, Jesper Ullbing, Matthew Goodwill, Kai-Brith Kalda.
BIG Sustainability.- Kannan Selvaraj.

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Client
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Den Almennyttige Fond for Psaligrafisk Kunst.

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Area
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2,300 m².

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Dates
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2024.

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Location
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Hune, North Jutland. Denmark. 

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Renderings
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Wizarch.

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Bjarke Ingels (born in Copenhagen, 1974) studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and at the School of Architecture of Barcelona, ​​obtaining his degree as an architect in 1998. He is the founder of the BIG architecture studio - (Bjarke Ingels Group), studio founded in 2005, after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 with his former partner Julien de Smedt, whom he met while working at the prestigious OMA studio in Rotterdam.

Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings worldwide, and currently his studio is based with venues in Copenhagen and New York. His projects include The Mountain, a residential complex in Copenhagen, and the innovative Danish Maritime Museum in Elsinore.

With the PLOT study, he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and with BIG he has received numerous awards such as the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Other prizes are the Culture Prize of the Crown Prince of Denmark in 2011; and Along with his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.

In 2018, Bjarke received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog granted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. He is a frequent public speaker and continues to give lectures at places such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street or the World Economic Forum. In 2018, Bjarke was appointed Chief Architectural Advisor by WeWork to advise and develop the design vision and language of the company for buildings, campuses and neighborhoods around the world.

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