NIRAS is on board with a team that is set to transform and build a new Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde

One of the main purposes of transforming the old hall and building a new Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is to secure the unique cultural heritage from rising water levels and extreme weather conditions:

“Recently, we have had extreme weather conditions that once again underline the need for a new home for the Viking Ships in Roskilde. Therefore, it’s such good news that the project is now one step further in the process. We need to protect the unique cultural heritage that the Viking Ships represent and display the ships in a way where we can all learn more about a very central part of our history,” says the Danish cultural minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt.

Department Manager Claus Wessel Andersen is glad that NIRAS is now on board this exciting project that contributes to preserving the special Danish history of the Vikings: “The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is a project that concerns a lot of different people. One might have been there with the family or with their school class. Therefore, I really think it’s cool to be a part of preserving and building new conditions for exactly that,” he says.

The project winners have been chosen by a committee of representatives from the Viking Ship Museum's board members, the city council in Roskilde, and professional judges with either an architectural or engineering background.

A wood construction that brings connotations to both nature and history

The new home for the Viking ships will be constructed in wood, which brings a connection to the past, the surrounding nature, and life on the harbor.

“As architects, it is a dream coming true that we are now going to work in the field between protection and renewal of an exceptional cultural heritage, that the Viking ships are and that the new Viking Ship Hall represents,” says Lene Tranberg, partner, and co-owner of Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects.

Constructing the hall in wood also ensures the project's sustainable DNA and demands special engineering disciplines.

“We need to bring all our experts into play at this project, but of course, it needs extraordinary skills to construct the hall in wood,” says the becoming project leader in NIRAS Mads H. Jørgensen.

Gentle transformation of the old hall

The existing ship hall was created in 1969 by architect Erik Christian Sørensen, who was inspired by international architects and used concrete in a new, free, and rustic manner. Now the 55-year-old building will be transformed and get a new function.

“Creating solutions for the transformation of the ship hall, we have been extremely careful. It has been rewarding to work with such an architectural piece that has a beautiful and very obvious spatial structure with a clear hierarchy, that makes it possible to open up the facades towards the beach,” says partner and architect in Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects Malene Hjortsø Kyndesen.

Opening up the building gives the hall a gathering point in the city while the building is protected from the coast.

The winners and the other project proposals will be exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall from January 12th to January 28th, 2024.