In the protected dune landscape along the Danish west coast, the architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have created a spectacular yet almost completely hidden museum. Louis Poulsen was in charge of the lighting plan, and designed a customised fixture for the project.

From the outset, light played a key role in designing the 2,800-square-metre exhibition space, which with its large open glass sections stands in strong contrast to the gloomy bunker behind.

Louis Poulsen developed a lighting plan for the project as well as a new pendant. The pure, conical shape effectively directs the light downwards, and ensures that the pendant illuminates the space and the exhibits without disturbing the dramatic effect of the exhibitions.

The Tirpitz museum is situated near Varde in west Jutland, and takes visitors on a journey through a treasure trove of stories from the area – tales about lost ships, dangerous smugglers and clandestine love affairs during the Second World War. The museum is built into a sand ramp that leads up to the bunker – i.e it is man-made. Thus, it was possible to bring together three museums in a single building and create a spectacular cultural institution in the otherwise totally protected area.

“In addition to the functional and technical requirements, we wanted to create a fixture which harmonises with the museum’s simple design idiom and execution in pure materials such as concrete, glass and steel. Everything is stripped down to the basics with absolutely no decoration – and this also needed to apply to the lamp. Therefore, we developed an LED fixture in a tight conical shape in galvanised zinc, which is perfectly suited to a building where nothing is painted, and everything is raw and naked and honest,”

Ole Elkjær-Larsen, an architect at BIG and project manager for the Tirpitz project.

Architect: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group 
Lighting designer: BIG IDEAS – Bjarke Ingels Group & Louis Poulsen. 
Engineer: Ingeniørgruppen Syd. 
Installer: TeknikGruppen, Erichsen & Søn 
Photographer: Jesper Ray