Den Kongelige Danske Fiskesamling

Den Kongelige Danske Fiskesamling is a proposal for a new Oceanarium located on the waterfront in Copenhagen, right next to Amalienborg Palace. The collection deals with the marine biology of the Danish coastline. The spatial sequence of the exhibition leads the visitor through North Sea, Skagerrak and Baltic Sea.

The Oceanarium rises up as a solid brick volume on a square footprint. It is slightly shifted from the axis of warehouses and the Amalienborg Garden. This step back creates a square in front of the main entrance towards the city, without hiding the building behind the adjacent warehouse. The extruded roofscape reacts with its different heights to the neighbouring buildings, forming a high point towards water and park. On the streetlevel pedestrians are invited by large, deep openings that mediate between street, water and park and allow passing through the building without sills. The double height foyer introduces the general layout of the building to the visitor. The square plan is divided into four differently sized parts by a central cross shaped core, which includes the lifts and staircases in its arms. This sequence of staircases leads the visitor through the entire exhibition starting in the foyer. The spatial sequence makes the visitor never let a room pass twice. One finds itself on a tour along the Danish coastline, starting with the North Sea on the way upwards, passing by rooms with cabinets and big basins showing the local maritime life. The turning point at the top of the building represents the meeting point of North Sea and Baltic Sea in the very North of Denmark. The visitor is given a view to an outside basin with a seal bank. After passing a temporary exhibiton hall this is followed by the tour through the Baltic Sea, which finally brings one back to the foyer. In the top floor a restaurant with roof terrace is located, opening up towards the harbour. It provides a rest for the visitor during his tour, but works seperately in the evening as well. Furthermore a café on the ground floor vitalizes the pier throughout the day.