BORGRING VISITOR CENTRE

The Viking castles in Denmark tell a unique story about a central royal power that unites a nation, and about a change of system from the old Nordic religion to Christianity. Through precise geometric structures, monuments were created with overwhelming character, power, symbolism, and form.

BALANCING PRESENCE AND HUMILITY

The design of a visitor center in relation to the ring castle as a monument must be balanced in both expression and communication. The architecture of the visitor center must be both humble in relation to the primary attraction, and yet powerful enough to merit a visit.

INTERPRETING VIKING LONGHOUSES

In the Viking Age, one of the first chapters in Danish architecture was written, where the first approaches to overall architectural concepts and ideas unfold. The longhouse, as a typology, it emerges and is characterized by a simple and characterful roof supported by a stable underlying wooden structure.

The new visitor center Borgring Huse is designed as an interpretation of Viking Age longhouses. In the visitor centre, three longhouses gather around a protected inner courtyard that frames and stages the castle Borgring as a monument.

Each longhouse contains a main function: staff, event center, or exhibition. The largest longhouse forms the framework for the exhibition hall. It stands out in relation to the other two longhouses with a distinctive identity, marked by its steep roof and characteristic gables. A light open building structure connects the three longhouses and contains a shop, ticketing, a café, and a flexible exhibition area overlooking the monument.

CRAFTING CHARACTER AND MATERIALITY

The visitor center is built as a robust and visible wooden construction, which gives character to the interior spaces. The building is designed with a focus on flexibility for future uses and building extensions.

The expression of the facades is characterized by a half-timbered motif, which, with its fixed rhythm, brings the building together into a unified whole. The half-timbered panels are made with oversized shingles of reused burnt wood, which gives the center a characteristic and tactile expression with a clear relation to the past.

Culture

Transformation

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