Ragnarock: Denmark’s gold-studded, gravity-defying rock museum

Compiled by Team IAnD

Photography: Courtesy MVRDV

©Ossip van Duivenbode

With its striking gold-studded façade and daring cantilevered auditorium, Ragnarock has opened its doors to offer visitors a fully immersive rock experience…

Ragnarock , MVRDV and COBE’s museum of pop, rock and youth culture in Roskilde, Denmark, stands as an architectural embodiment of rock music, which hopes to inspire a new generation of musicians, artists and creative professionals.

©Ossip van Duivenbode

The building, complete with a colossal cantilever, houses the main museum experience, which also includes an auditorium, administrative facilities and a bar. The new structure plugs into the factories, standing on four legs, which take visitors up into the museum and auditorium above. A clear divide, identified by a separation in materials, distinguishes old from new; raw concrete in contrast with vivid red studs. The combination of materials radiate a rock-like atmosphere; from the golden anodized aluminium studded façade, which pays homage to lead singers throughout rock history, to the vivid red interior, reminiscent of a guitar case’s soft velvet inside.

©Ossip van Duivenbode

©Ossip van Duivenbode

The experience throughout the building takes visitors on a journey into the life of a rock star, combining traditional museum with immersive exhibitions. The red carpet welcome, the rise to fame up to the performance space, which hangs daringly in the air, and the inevitable fall down to the bar.

©Ossip van Duivenbode

©Ossip van Duivenbode

Ragnarock itself also becomes a stage; performances can either face the large public plaza on one side, or the refurbished industrial halls on the other. The golden overhang defies gravity in a true rock-n-roll style and welcomes visitors not only into the museum, but also in the future will act as the entrance into the larger ROCKmagneten masterplan. 

©Ossip van Duivenbode

©Ossip van Duivenbode

The social intentions of the scheme open up new possibilities for music creativity by providing an inclusive environment with constant connections between education, leisure and performance. The buildings themselves inspire but also leave room within the scheme, such as outdoor plazas, to breed creativity through a new social, informal platform.

©Ossip van Duivenbode

The design aims to touch the existing site as lightly as possible with the intention to preserve the raw and informal character of the site, which has been, and still is, used by skaters and artists alike.

The 3,100 sq. m. Ragnarock acts as the gateway, and flagship building, for a larger 11,000 sq.m. regeneration of the existing cement factories, which will later be transformed into ‘Musicon’ a district of rock music and youth culture, whilst adding two more new buildings - a new Danish højskole - a regenerated concrete factory hall marked by a hovering volume; and the headquarters for the Roskilde Rock Festival - a dynamic environment to accommodate future students and teachers of the højskole.