The Space Between

The building that houses Designmuseum Danmark was originally constructed in 1758 as King Frederik's Hospital, the first public hospital in Denmark, establishing it from the very beginning as a social and democratic space. When the hospital later relocated to what is now Rigshospitalet, the building was repurposed as the Kunstindustrimuseet following renovations by Kaare Klint, who would go on to live, work, and teach within its walls. As co-founder of the furniture school at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Klint used the space to educate a generation of highly influential designers and craftsmen, among them Arne Jacobsen and Hans J. Wegner.

In 2022, the Kunstindustrimuseet was rebranded as Designmuseum Danmark, undergoing further renovations that brought the building to its current state. Today, the museum hosts a celebrated collection of Danish and Scandinavian design, attracting record visitor numbers, yet nearly 90% of those visitors are international tourists, with local Danes making up only around 10% of the audience. 

This imbalance points to a deeper challenge: while the museum thrives as a global destination, it struggles to establish relevance within its own community. As one of our informants noted, many locals feel that Danish design is already part of their everyday lives at home, leaving little incentive to seek it out in a museum setting. 

Bridging this gap has become a central ambition for the museum, which is now working toward a "Campus identity", a vision aimed at giving locals a reason to return and engage with the space on their own terms.