WORLD HERITAGE
The Danish Wadden Sea was included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2014 along with the Dutch and German sections of this natural landscape.
The main reason for the listing is the annual passage of 15 million migrating birds.
June 2023
The purpose of the Wadden Sea Centre (Vadehavscentret) is to provide information about the area’s unique nature and history. It was founded as an organization in 1992 and opened in a dedicated building in 1996.
The centre is owned by Esbjerg Municipality and operated by Fonden for Vadehavscentret (Foundation for the Wadden Sea Centre).
In February 2017 the original building was expanded and transformed into a modern architectural masterpiece designed by Dorte Mandrup. In Mandrup’s words, ‘The core architectural concept is a sculptural reinterpretation of the region’s vernacular architecture. Our ambition was to create a project that points to the future while being rooted in local building traditions and history. In this way, we aim to bring architectural traditions of the Wadden Sea region into the 21st century.’
The most striking features of the Wadden Sea Centre are the sculptural, almost futuristic thatched roof and walls. In an unusual approach, the thatching project was not included in the main contract but constituted an independent commission, which was set up so that the specific design would be developed in collaboration with the thatching company that won the contract.
Ruud Conijn told in an article in HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7, that six thatching companies were invited to bid for the commission, including his own.
When three of the other invited companies stated that they would want to draw on his expertise and labour if they won, he withdrew from the bidding round. ‘I have no interest in the administrative aspect, only in the technical execution,’ he said.
‘Kim Andersen won the contract and carried out the project with Arne Klüwer and myself and our respective employees. It makes you think, though,’ he continued with a smile: ‘I spent 35 years integrating and assimilating. Now, I am being headhunted as a specialist because I think differently.’
‘When it comes to new architecture and thatched roofs, the Dutch are the best in world. During the planning phase we went to the Netherlands for training for a few days. The lines of the Wadden Sea Centre architecture push the limits of what the world’s leading experts thought was possible. It has vertical thatching with an overhang and a 62-degree angle where the traditional angle is 140 degrees!’
‘The vertical sections and overhangs, 600 m2 in total, are thatched with short reed from Ringkøbing Fjord (a shallow lagoon, despite the name, located on Jutland’s west coast, ed.), while the sloping roof surfaces, totalling 1,900 m2, are thatched with reed from Limfjorden (a shallow strait in the north of Jutland, ed.).’
Read about Ruud Conijn in bookazine no. 7 – you can buy the bookazine here
Vadehavet blev, sammen med det hollandske og tyske vadehav, klassificeret som UNESCO Verdensarv i 2014.
15 millioner trækfugle pr. år er hovedårsagen til klassificeringen.
Vadehavscentret, som har til opgave at formidle områdets unikke natur og historie, blev som institution etableret i 1992, og det første center blev bygget i 1996.
Vadehavscentret drives af den selvejende institution Fonden for Vadehavscentret. Esbjerg Kommune ejer centret og er driftsgarant.
I februar 2017 blev et ombygget og udbygget center taget i brug. Et mesterligt stykke moderne arkitektur tegnet af Dorte Mandrup. Om bygningsværket har hun udtalt: “Grundideen i arkitekturen er en ny skulpturel tolkning af den eksisterende bygningskultur på stedet. Det har været vores ambition at få bygningsværket til både at pege mod fremtiden og have sine rødder i den lokale byggetradition og historie. På den måde vil vi bringe Vadehavets bygningskunst ind i det 21. århundrede.”
De stærkeste karakteristika ved Vadehavscentret er det skulpturelle, næsten futuristiske stråtag og de stråtækte vægge. Helt usædvanligt var tækkearbejdet ikke en del af hovedentreprisen, men blev udbudt som en selvstændig opgave, med det formål at detailudvikle sammen med det vindende tækkefirma.
Ruud Conijn har i HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7 forklaret, at i alt seks tækkefirmaer var inviteret til at byde på opgaven, herunder ham selv.
Da tre af de andre inviterede gav udtryk for, at de ville trække på hans ekspertise og arbejdskraft, hvis de vandt, trak han sig fra budrunden. “Min interesse ligger ikke i det administrative, men i det tekniske”, sagde han.
“Kim Andersen vandt entreprisen og løste opgaven i samarbejde med Arne Klüwer og mig og vores respektive ansatte.
Det er lidt tankevækkende”, sagde han med et smil, “jeg har brugt 35 år på at integrere mig og på at blive ligesom. Nu headhuntes jeg som specialist, fordi jeg tænker anderledes.
De dygtigste i verden til at arbejde med ny arkitektur og stråtag er hollænderne. I planlægningsfasen var vi i Holland et par dage på kursus. Linjerne på Vadehavscentret har udfordret selv det, som de dygtigste der mente muligt. Der er lodret tækning, med overhæng og et knæk på 62 grader, kutymen er at tække knækket med 140 grader!
De lodrette stykker og overhæng, i alt 600 m2, er tækket med korte tækkerør fra Ringkøbing Fjord, og de skrå tagflader, i alt 1900 m2, er tækket med tækkerør fra Limfjorden.”
Læs om Ruud Conijn i bookazine no. 7, bookazinet kan købes her
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