Denmark’s Museum of Rock Music opens today (29 April) in the city of Roskilde, marking the latest building from Dutch architecture studio MVRDV.
The museum is as striking as you’d expect from the designers of Rotterdam’s famous curved Market Hall. The design channels Mick Jagger, David Bowie and other flamboyant figures from the history of rock music with a textured, spiky golden facade and plush deep red interiors.
“The building is like a singer standing on top of a stage,” MVRDV co-founder Jacob van Rijs told
CLAD. “The museum is the frontman in a band. It’s splashy and attention-grabbing, and the intention is to bring the area alive.
“We thought about how you transfer rock music into architecture and we were inspired by the studs of a belt, leather jackets, velvet music cases, red carpets and so on. The statement is there.”
The museum will present the history of rock music from the 1950s onwards, with a look to the future of music as well. According to the state-run tourism agency
VisitDenmark, “you get the story of a generation of youth that creates its own culture, that communicates globally throughout the music and even influences the development in the society. On top of that, an exciting discovery centre allows you to independently see what you can do with music.”
Visitors are able to record their own version of favourite hits, and participate in the world’s biggest choir.
The museum is the first component of Roskilde’s Ragnarock city complex, which takes advantage of the site's popular annual music festival.
Located on a former industrial site, the complex will host the speaker-shaped headquarters of the festival, a music school, areas of social housing and a public plaza and performance area.
The facilities will be located inside renovated factory buildings with new volumes constructed above, and are designed to look like other band members and pieces of musical equipment.
The wider neighbourhood is currently used by artists, skaters and musicians and the brief called for the architects to retain this aura of creativity. As such, the masterplan makes room for temporary pavilions to be added around the plaza and within the wide open spaces of the factory buildings.
MVRDV is working in collaboration with Danish practice COBE, landscape architects LIW Planning and engineering firms Arup and Wessberg on the 45,000sq m (484,300sq ft) project.
The name of the scheme, which is also known as Rockmagneten, alludes to Ragnarök, a war between the gods that plays a significant role in Norse mythology.
