© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Vardemuseerne
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
© Rasmus Hjortshøj
In the Danish town of Oksbøl two unassuming, 20-metre-long brick buildings with pitched roofs line of a squarish open space. They are the last remnants of Denmark’s biggest refugee camp for up to 35,000 refugees dating from the 2nd World War era. They housed the camp hospital. In converting them into a museum about displaced persons the aim was that the fabric of the original buildings should form an important part of the exhibition and thus contribute to the unmistakeable authenticity of the place. The spaces however, were too small with no rooms suitable for visiting exhibitions or that could be used to make a representative entrance with a foyer. The team of architects from BIG gutted most of the old buildings and painted the brick walls white inside, which heightens the impact of the historic timber beams and the yellow clinker brick floor.