Closer look: COBE + MVRDV’s rockin’ new Ragnarock museum in Roskilde

Nestled within an industrial patch of warehouses in the Danish city of Roskilde stands the golden-studded, newly inaugurated Ragnarock, a museum where rock, pop, and youth culture are housed under one roof. COBE and MVRDV joined forces to design the new museum, which is part of the larger ROCKmagneten masterplan that the architects won in 2011. The masterplan transforms the existing Musicon that currently inhabits the site, while adding three new structures. In addition to Ragnarock, the other two upcoming structures are the Roskilde Festival Folk High School and the headquarters of the well-known annual Roskilde Festival music event.

Keep reading for more about the Ragnarock museum.

Opening to the public this past weekend, Ragnarock conveys the two sides of rock ‘n’ roll culture that would appeal to fans and tourists of any age. Contrasting with its grittier industrial surroundings, the museum depicts the “interplay between rough and trashy on one hand, [and the] glitzy and spectacular”, according to the architects.

A red carpet welcomes visitors into the 3.100 m2 museum, which spans 4 stories and features a 20-meter cantilever. Its interior is decked in a luxurious red velvet — inspired by the inner lining of a guitar case, as described by COBE Founder and Creative Director Dan Stubbergaard.

The museum provides for various public functions, including a large exhibition hall, library, auditorium, recording studios, a museum shop, café, workshop spaces, a patio, and an outdoor music venue.

“Our aim with the design was to translate the special energy, image and attitude of rock and pop music into architecture. The unique building will introduce the audience to the world of rock music in a tangible way,” said Stubbergaard in a statement. “The 20 meter cantilever guarantees to have an physical impact on anybody standing under it or in it – hovering over the ground in the exhibition. It is an homage to rock and pop stars like Bowie, Hendrix and Jagger.”

In the next phase of the masterplan, the Roskilde Festival Folk High School is scheduled for completion sometime in 2018.

Project details

Project name: Ragnarock – Museet for pop, rock og ungdomskultur
Location: Musicon, Rabalderstræde 16, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Client: ROMU
Year of construction: 2014 - 2016
Size: 3.100 m2
Budget: 125 mio. DKK / 16,8 mio EUR
General contractor: B. Nygaard Sørensen, Denmark
Architects: COBE, Denmark and MVRDV, Holland
Landscape architects: LIW Planning, Denmark
Engineers: Norconsult, Denmark
Client advisor: Roskilde Kommune v/ Lauge Brandt

Design team COBE: Dan Stubbergaard, Thomas Krarup, Eik Bjerregaard, Caroline Nagel, Jens Kert Wagner, Morten Andersen, Morten Engel, Christian Sander, Antonia Szabo, Rasmus Bernhard Nielsen, Rune Veile, Tabea Treier, Hiroshi Kato, Guillaume Ros Hoffmann, Agnieszka Krasuska, Oskar Tranum, Helen Chen

Design team MVRDV: Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries with Fokke Moerel, Klaas Hofman, Jaap Baselmans, Yiyi Yang, Doris Goldstein, Maria Lopez, Nicholas Berdon, Francisco Pomares, Matias Thomsen, Buster Christensen, Mette Rasmussen, Sara Bjelke, Rune Veile, Francesca Becchi, Nas Alkhaldi, Sara Impera

All photos courtesy of the architects.