The renovation of Designmuseum Denmark in 2020-2022
Renovating the museum
The museum has undergone a comprehensive renovation of the interior of the historic buildings and of sandstone decorations, 'Amaliegadepladsen' and all exhibition and guest areas.
The museum chose to close down in 2020 and start the major renovation and redevelopment that has secured the museum's unique historic building framework for the future. In a comprehensive reorganization of all exhibition and audience areas and rethinking of the guest experience, we embarked on a major restoration project that has saved the underground under our historic museum building.
The new design museum reopened to the public for a grand opening day on 19 June 2022.
Part 1: Floor and heating
The main project is the extensive conversion of the historic heating under the museum floor. Approx. 3,000 square meters of floor, which for decades have been moving and threatened that the museum would have to vacate the listed building. Excavation and securing of the foundation and replacement of the historic steam-based underfloor heating system from the 1920s to a new modern and energy-friendly heating system. All the tiles in the listed floor, which were established as part of Kaare Klint’s major transformation project in the 1920s, are picked up and re-laid according to all the drawings and measurements that are still in the museum’s archives today.
The floor project will only to a lesser extent be able to be followed from the outside – and orchestrated from a construction site that will be established in the museum’s garden with entrance and exit via Amaliegade.
Part 2: Restoration
From the street, anyone who looks up can see that the building’s historic decorations have been worn down by the weather and wind. During the museum’s closure, we are therefore initiating a new restoration of the buildings’ historic 18th century pediments as well as sandstone decorations on the building’s exterior and facades.
The two pediments – towards Bredgade and Amaliegade – as well as the fence towards Amaliegade are carved in Gotland sandstone, and the sculptural work was done by Johan Christoph Petzold (1708-1762). J.C. Petzold, who was from Sachen, was called to Denmark to carry out work at Christiansborg Castle. He stayed in Denmark approx. 1739-46 and 1748-57, and he is mentioned as a court sculptor from 1755 and was also a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1751-57. Petzold often worked with Nicolaj Eigtved and understood in his building culture to combine figures and decorative elements into a beautifully effective whole.