Museum of Monastic Life

The Museum of Monastic Life project in Ry, Denmark places a new museum as graceful built forms within the solitude of a landscape between two lakes. The masterplan takes as its basis the ruined foundations of a major medieval Cistercian monastery, its walls razed almost to ground level during the Reformation, together with the display of more than 23.000 objects from over a century of archaeological excavations.

The concept was to reunite the ruin and the collection, and to make the plan-form of the monastery site easier to interpret for visitors, whilst respecting the special natural and cultural values of the place. The museum is therefore envisioned as a series of smaller buildings within and around the ruin instead of a singular building, consisting of: The Cloister, The Academy, The Monk’s Cell and The Winter Garden, together telling the story of the monks’ daily life where it all happened.

Galmstrup Architects developed the strategic masterplan and concept design for the site. We conducted a series of engagement sessions with key stakeholders as well as developing the strategic business brief and operations approach. We also managed the statutory planning process with the Council and Ministry of Culture for this listed national monument.