Naturama - Zoological Museum, Svendborg

Naturama came about through a close and inspirational collaboration between consultants, clients, architects, building contractors, exhibition experts, etc.

Address: Dronningemaen, Svendborg, DK
Size: Conversions and extensions of approx. 3,000 m²
Construction: 2004
Client: Svendborg Municipality and Svendborg Zoological Museum
Landscape: Arkitema
Engineers: Birch & Krogboe
Building contractor: J&B Entreprise
Client consultant: Niras

The museum provides a new framework for learning about the world of nature. It makes use of the methods of the theatre and film to develop a new exhibition concept for natural history; an exhibition concept in which the visitors themselves are very much part of the exhibition. The museum experience is thereby lifted from one of passive registration to a total experience which engages the visitors and stimulates their senses.
A new exhibition hall in three levels was added to the existing museum. The new exhibitions are in principle kept within a single space, so as to present the overall story to visitors and enable them to gain a panoramic view. Accordingly, the design is based on a natural principle with three traversing horizontal levels arranged along a vertical axis. The lowest of these represents water, the middle one earth, and the uppermost, air. Common experiences are presented at the centre of each level, while the periphery provides possibilities for individual detailed study. The museum's exhibitions have been inspired by the latest exhibition trends among Europe's natural history museums, including the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris and Naturalis in Leiden, the Netherlands.
The building is constructed "from the inside and out", i.e. it is built up around the main exhibition. The divisions between the exhibition and the other spaces that surround it (such as the foyer) are made up of a number of staggered shells between which visitors criss-cross in and out of the main exhibition. Some of these intervening spaces contain ramps, others combinations of ramps and staircases, as well as footbridges, while yet others have been designed as a kind of balcony that allows people to look into or out of the exhibition area. The transitional area thus becomes a zone of transformation from indoors to outdoors, from light to dark, from up to down, etc.
The foyer and shop area are located immediately inside the main entrance to the southwest. This area provides access to both the main and special exhibitions, a café, cloakroom and auditorium, as well as, via a staircase, the administration area on the first floor. These areas are all very different in character due to their locations, content and constructional forms, and thus a tour of the building offers a wealth of experiences. The individual functions are laid out in an internally logical and rational manner, but a conscious effort has been made to create a building that contains surprises, which the user will wish to return to and experience in new ways.
Towards the surrounding world, the building is designed to draw attention to itself and to say something about what takes place within it. The facade has been designed to tease rather than reveal. You can just make out the large circular form at the centre of the body of the building, and perhaps also the whale skeleton in the foyer.