Regan Vest - Danish Cold War Museum / AART Architects

Architects: AART Architects
Area: 1200 m²
Year: 2023
Photographs: Rasmus Hjortshøj, COAST Studio
Lead Architects: Mads Nygaard, Nicolaj Ø Thunbo, Martin Gertsen
Landscape Architecture: SLA
Category: Cultural Architecture, Museum
Partner in Charge: Anders Tyrrestrup
Design Team: Rene Laursen, Asger Brix Pedersen, Asbjørn Bratsbjerg
Engineering Company: Niras
Exhibition Architecture: Kumulus Agency
Client / Owner: Nordjyske Museer
Town: Skørping
Country: Denmark

Regan Vest – Danish Cold War Museum, designed by AART Architects in Rold Skov, Northern Jutland, has revealed one of Denmark’s most secret Cold War structures by transforming the hidden 5,500 square-meter underground bunker into a public museum. Originally constructed in the 1960s to secure the Danish government, civil service, and Royal House in case of nuclear war, REGAN Vest served as a last bastion of democracy and was considered the point at which, if captured, Denmark would fall. The site now includes public access to the bunker. A central scale model of the bunker anchors the layout of the reception and exhibition building, organizing visitor flow and linking exhibition content to the real structure below. Seven curated sections provide perspectives on Cold War themes, from nuclear anxiety to political conflict, designed for continuity and free navigation. The architectural concept supports the museum’s aim to maintain the mystique of the site while offering an immersive educational experience rooted in secrecy, democracy, and Cold War tension.

Regan vest - danish cold war museum / aart architects

The Cold War bunker REGAN Vest remained a state secret for many decades. It is now open to the public through the establishment of the new Danish Cold War Museum. The museum complex consists of four black volumes concealed deep within Rold Skov in Northern Jutland, a design inspired by the long-standing secrecy surrounding Denmark’s most hidden bunker, located 60 meters underground.

REGAN Vest, known as the last bastion of democracy, is the best-preserved Cold War bunker in Denmark. It was secretly constructed in the 1960s to accommodate the government, civil service, and the Royal House. The objective was to safeguard Danish democracy for as long as possible in the event of a third world war. For decades, REGAN Vest represented the final line of democratic defense—if the enemy captured the bunker, Denmark was considered lost.

The bunker remained a closely guarded state secret for decades, concealed 60 meters beneath the surface in Rold Skov, and remained undisclosed until only a few years ago. With the opening of the new museum, the site is now accessible to the public, including the bunker itself, the original lighthouse keeper’s residence, and a newly designed exhibition building by AART. This addition establishes a comprehensive narrative about REGAN Vest, its critical democratic role, and the lives and experiences of Danes during the Cold War.

Anders Tyrrestrup, Founding Partner and Architect at AART, described the Cold War Museum REGAN Vest as “an utterly unique place, which will create framework for a very central story in Danish history—a story that is still relevant and important in this day and age.”

On the surface, the reception and exhibition building is the only visible element of the new Cold War Museum. Designed as four black boxes, the structure is set deep within the forest. The volumes appear solid and enclosed, resembling sealed display cases, with only a subtle recess in the facade marking the museum entrance. Clad in anodized aluminum, the boxes possess a weather-resistant surface and a distinctive presence. Their form interacts with the surrounding landscape, which conceals one of Denmark’s most closely guarded secrets—the 5,500 square-meter nuclear-proof bunker originally built to shelter the Danish regent and government in the event of war.

Anders Tyrrestrup noted that “the boxes do not reveal their content and piqué the curiosity of the visitors right from the arrival. Thus, the boxes inscribe themselves into the complete experience for the visitor—an experience characterized by its distinctive mystic and historical secrecy all the way through.”

REGAN Vest serves as tangible evidence of the tension experienced during the Cold War and functions as the central focus of the museum. At the center of the reception and exhibition building is a scale model of the underground bunker. The layout of the building is designed so that visitor circulation is organized around this model, allowing for a clear overview and direct access to the museum’s key elements, including the exhibition sections and the assembly point for guided tours to REGAN Vest.

The reception and exhibition building includes seven exhibition sections that engage visitors with varied perspectives on the Cold War, ranging from the fear of nuclear weapons to sharply defined political divisions and hypothetical war scenarios. The layout is designed to ensure continuity between each section while also allowing visitors to move freely among them and construct their own individual experience.