ARKEN Museum of Modern Art is a monumental landmark sur­rounded by a manmade beachscape just south of Copenhagen.

The contemporary art museum was inaugurated on 15 March 1996 by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II.

The young architecture student, Søren Robert Lund, surprised the establishment by winning the design competition with a Deconstructivist museum, which resembled a giant beached ship.

The ship metaphor is also evident in the huge indoor gal­lery axis, which is shaped like a hull with tall, heavy doors of iron, exposed rivet-like bolts and metal staircases. This distinctive and bold design provides the framework for a large collection of contemporary art and special exhibitions.