james turrell + schmidt hammer lassen reveal design for ARoS aarhus museum extension

renderings showing expansion plans for the ARoS art museum by schmidt hammer lassen and james turrell have been revealed. the €40 million ($47m USD) project was first announced in 2015, underlining the danish institution’s brief to offer new facilities — including a 1,200 square meter subterranean gallery and a semi-subterranean art installation called ‘the dome’.

all images © schmidt hammer lassen and james turrell / beauty & the bit

schmidt hammer lassen completed the initial museum building, and — through this current collaboration with james turrell — the new scheme will offer guests an enhanced visitor experience. both color and light will be introduced into the galleries and exhibition spaces. measuring 40 meters in diameter, turrell’s dome is intended to form one of the most spectacular spaces ever built into an art museum.

inside ‘the next level’ by james turrell

the extension, named ‘the next level’, will occupy a site perpendicular to ARoS’ current main entrance. a distinctive dome will emerge nine meters above the ground, signifying its presence and its function to hold two underground galleries.

a typical turrell-designed ‘ganzfeld’

the project plans to connect to the existing building, developing the museum horizontally in contrast to the existing verticality. the design follows the natural flow of the city — from the river, to the square of the aarhus music hall — referencing the main architectural concept of the museum building. a public route runs through the museum, transforming the building into a bridge linking two of the city’s cultural centers. the project combines art and architecture to produce a new civic experience that aims to be complete by 2021.

an experience in color and light will bring the visitor into the gallery and exhibition spaces

the entrance to the new building

olafur eliasson’s ‘your rainbow panorama’ hovers as a luminous circle on the museum roof

site plan of the museum grounds and the proposed extension

sectional drawing

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