The Sonorous Museum by ADEPT

Article source: ADEPT

In the listed ’Radio House’ of Copenhagen, by renowned Danish Architect Vilhelm Lauritzen, the Danish National Museum has recently re-opened its vast collection of historical musical instruments. The elegant modernistic building from the 1950’ies have gone through an extensive refurbishment, respectfully carried out to emphasize the unique character of the listed building’s materiality and detailing.

Classic and modern details, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

• Architects: ADEPT
• Project: The Sonorous Museum
• Photography:  Laura Stamer, Kaare Viemose

Floating instruments, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

In a close collaboration with Creo Architects and engineers Niras, ADEPT is behind concept and realization of the museum design that includes four delicately detailed sound spaces as part of the collection’s educational program.

The Radio House, including the National Music Museum and the four sound spaces ’The Sonorous Museum’, is refurbished in great respect of the original building, showing a classic approach that preserves the original design intentions, yet adding contemporary life and modernity to it.

Graphical clarity in sound space for brass, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

The unique architecture of the Radio House, reflecting the spatial universe of Vilhelm Lauritzen, has been the main inspiration during the refurbishment process. Everything, from the transparency of the exhibition design to the play of colors, patterns and rhythm in the acoustic walls of ’the Sonoruous Museum’, is a modern day interpretation of architectural elements and details from Vilhelm Lauritzen’s buildings.

The exhibition design is build up around the guest’s physical movement through musical history – a movement communicated in a delicate balance between exhibited objects and instruments, graphic illustrations and listening stations interacting with the museum guest. The design alternates between glass showcases making the instruments seemingly float in the air and open table aus showing larger instruments.

Hidden storage and filtered daylight, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

’The Sonorous Museum’ is comprised of four sound regulated studios, acoustically adapted to a specific instrumental group: strings, brass, percussion and mixed instruments. The four spaces are designed as interactive classrooms in order to provide visiting school classes with a hands-on experience of the classical music instruments and their sound spectre.

The four spaces are designed as spatial variations on the same aesthetic theme. Each of the spaces are clad in wood veneer, designed to meet and create the optimal acoustic setting for a specific instrumental group. From the vertical lamellae of the percussion space, the seemingly vibrating casettes for strings to the graphical clarity of the brass space, the four spaces stands out as both contemporary modern and yet very classic in their expression – as a simple and precise continuation of the intented spirit in Vilhelm Lauritzen’s listed master piece.

Open lecture space, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

Spatial layers, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

The Music Museum, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

Transparent exhibition design, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

Vertical lamellae in the soundspace for percussion instruments, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

Vibrating cassettes in sound space fpr strings, Image Courtesy © Laura Stamer

The diffuse daylight in sound space for percussion, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Reception furniture, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Sound space brass, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Sound space orchestra, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Sound space percussion, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Sound space strings, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Stepped seating in sound space for orchestra, Image Courtesy © Kaare Viemose

Image Courtesy © ADEPT

Category: Museum

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2014 at 7:02 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.