Location: Blåvand, Denmark.

Architect: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

The TIRPITZ is a new cultural complex in Blåvand, Denmark that transforms a historic German WWII bunker into a groundbreaking museum. The 2,850 m2 structure comprises four exhibitions within a single building and appears subtly as the intersection between a series of precise cuts into the landscape. Visitors approach through heath-lined pathways and find the walls cut into the dunes from all sides until they descend to meet in a central clearing. The public courtyard allows access into the four underground gallery spaces that have an abundance of daylight even though they are literally carved into the sand. The exhibitions showcase permanent and temporary themed experiences with every gallery having its own rhythm and beating in sync with its story line. Visitors are able to walk into the historic bunker from the sunken galleries, which grounds the tale of an impressive war machine. While set by the heavy hermetic object of the WWII bunker, TIRPITZ is a sharp contrast to the concrete monolith by camouflaging with the landscape and inviting lightness and openness into the new museum.

Photo credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj and Laurian Ghinitoiu.