How to Build a Mega-Museum with Claus Pryds
18 years, a 14-metre-deep crater, a rebuilt brick facade, and a glass dome set to redefine Copenhagen’s skyline. Denmark’s new Natural History Museum is almost ready. Listen to full story in this episode of Let's Talk Architecture.
By Dansk Arkitektur Center
In this episode, Michael Booth meets architect Claus Pryds, who was barely out of architecture school when he unexpectedly won the competition for the country’s next great museum. What followed was a marathon of design, engineering and sheer perseverance that stretched across nearly two decades.
Michael and Claus dive into the wild story behind the museum: the setbacks, the breakthroughs, the impossible holes in the ground – and the thrill of watching a once-in-a-lifetime project finally rise to the surface. Opening in 2027, the museum will feature new worlds dedicated to Danish nature and Greenland and rumoured to have everything from dinosaurs to a Blue Whale skeleton.
Listen to the episode in the player above – or find it on your preferred podcast platform.
About Claus Pryds
Architect Claus Pryds is known for his sensitive and reflective approach to space, daylight, and the spirit of place. In 2021, he received the Dreyer Foundation Honorary Award for his innovative architecture, followed by the Eckersberg Medal in 2022. The jury highlighted his ability to create nuanced relationships between place, material, space, and history, as well as his modest, attentive, and caring architectural expression.
Claus Pryds runs an architectural practice under his own name and is also a lecturer at the Royal Danish Academy.
About Let's Talk Architecture
Join us as we meet with some of the world’s leading architects, designers, planners, and engineers about their work and ideas. Let’s Talk Architecture introduces you to the creative and innovative minds behind the future of our buildings and cities.
Let’s Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center. Behind the microphone is Michael Booth. Sound edits by Munck Studios.
Photo: Rune Svenningsen
