Deconstructivist Style

ARKEN breaks with the traditional static framework

With the character of a fragmented ship, ARKEN’s architectural style is in continuation of a Deconstructivist wave that rolled over Europe in the 1980s.

To deconstruct is to break down recognisable elements – in this instance the ship, the landscape and the geometric shapes – and put them together in one or more new shapes.

With its high walls, long corridors and shifting planes, ARKEN’s building signals innovation with regards to how a museum of art should look. Here are no linear perspective vanishing points to establish classical harmony. The building points in many directions all at once, and you are forced to be attentive.

ARKEN breaks with the traditional static framework in favour of a more dynamic and imaginative architecture.
A Deconstructivist building combines delicate and airy elements with oversize and massive materials. The building breaks with all classical idioms. The basis is the recognisable that is splintered, overlapped and broken into something new.

ARKEN is one of the best examples in Denmark of Deconstructivist architecture that breaks the usual shapes in favour of crooked angles and optical illusions.

See examples of other Deconstructivist buildings around the world:

- Zaha Hadid: Vitra Fire Station: http://figure-ground.com/vitra_fire/
- Bernard Tschumi: Parc de la Villette, Paris: http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/villette/index.htm