A time capsule from the Cold War – REGAN Vest

This giant underground bunker facility has its own museum in Rold Skov, Denmark.

In the middle of magnificent scenery lies a distinctive building built into the slope and clad with dark anodised aluminium panels. It consists of four large boxes offset from each other but connected to form a chain.

During opening hours, the REGAN Vest Museum opens up to the south with glass facades, but for the remainder of the time it closes its vertical shutters and becomes a mysterious box with a gloomy touch.

The name REGAN Vest is an abbreviation of the government's wartime control centre for western Denmark. It's a nuclear-proof bunker that would house the Danish government and the royal family in the event of a 3rd World War. It was built in total secrecy in the 1960s in Rold Skov in Northern Jutland. It consisted of two circular buildings, each on two levels, cut into the chalk hillside 60 metres below ground. There was room for a total of 360 people who could survive for months and perhaps even years if nuclear war became a reality.

High-level communication

The bunker is the main attraction, but the new museum/visitor centre complements the experience perfectly with exhibitions and learning spaces. Among many other historical objects is a scarily realistic mock-up of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

The museum was designed by AART Architects, who succeeded in creating a facility that tells the dark tale of the Cold War with great empathy. The rooms are characterised by a colour scheme that primarily ranges from black to natural grey. The museum’s interior mainly consists of raw concrete walls and a polished concrete floor, while the partitioning is made of wood.

The hard surfaces require careful acoustic insulation, and Troldtekt plays a key role here. Black-painted Troldtekt panels have been installed on the ceiling between the ribs of the grey concrete TT beams. They are virtually invisible, becoming a natural part of the ceiling’s technology. On the walls, vertical Troldtekt Plus acoustic panels are used in the main rooms, where they are an essential part of the architectural look.