[Location] Egtved, Denmark [Type] Museum [Size] 200 sqm [Status] Proposal
[Collaborators] Christian Reese
The project is designed based on an interpretation of the mythical and actual world of the Bronze Age in an architectural contemporary context, which refers to the life, death, and contemporaries of Egtvedpigen. The material in the project is carefully selected with poetic references to the story of Egtvedpigen and the burial mounds. The constructed path helps to emphasise the story of “Egtvedpigen's World” and gives a spatial feeling of the cultural landscape in Egtved.
The presentation of “Egtvedpigen's World” takes place through a path that takes the visitor through the museum's five overall themes. The path starts in the museum's exhibition room, the Portal, and then meanders around the burial mound and through the existing cultural landscape. The story of Egtvedpigen ends back in the courtyard between the new educational room and the Portal.
The visitor arrives at Egtvedpigen’s Museum at the extended car park in the south. After entering the site from under the tree crowns in the southern end, the story begins at the Portal, the first theme in the story of Egtvedpigen - The young woman. In the Portal, the various objects are exhibited, and the placement of information boards along the wall provides great flexibility. The oak coffin, which Egtvedpigen was buried in, will have its own special place in the new part of the museum.
The visitor then moves on into the courtyard, which surrounds an existing fruit tree. The story of Egtvedpigen continues on the constructed path in the open landscape, where one meets the other three themes and the story-telling interventions. The entire path has a point foundation and is therefore flexible and has a minimal effect on the existing cultural landscape around the burial mound.
The interventions along the path are carefully and strategically placed in the landscape to give the visitor the best possible experience in the story of Egtvedpigen.
The experience ends in the covered passage which opens into the courtyard. Here the visitor has the opportunity to take a break around the houses, use the kitchenette, or revisit the exhibition with new impressions. The location of the educational room creates two intimate courtyards with different qualities that invite a stay for both a school class as well as hikers or cycle tourists.
With sustainability as a central benchmark, the project is transformed and developed from the existing information building. The transformed building follows the existing construction of the old museum. The dismantled elements are reprocessed, which gives the materials new qualities. The roof tiles have been reused as tiles in the floor and the surface of the wooden cladding has been burnt, as a reference to the burnt child who was found in Egtvedpigen's grave.
The exhibition building is being expanded with a wooden structure to meet the demands of an increasing number of visitors. The new part appears open with large glass sections to create a contrast between the existing and the added, as well as to create a smooth transition between inside and outside. The sensual and tactile space emphasises the mystery surrounding the Bronze Age, as well as the meeting between the present and "Egtvedpigen's World”.
