Two light roof shells, facing each other and overlapping, that in the broadest sense evoke in the observer the idea of a maritime shape and an analogy to a sail, create the identity-forming landmark of the Museum that is so decisive for the overall character of the complex. The large, hall-like space below this roof construction is intended for the exhibition of large, ancient ships that have been assessed as being valuable to cultural history. Here they will be made accessible to the general public.
The entwined "sails" stand freely on a pedestal in which all the functions of the Museum are accommodated. Spacious open staircases are inviting places to linger and bear an immediate relation to the landscaped open spaces.
For the maritime-type roof the constructional principle of shells are adopted. The sail-shaped, triangular shells will be formed from a section of the surface of a sphere. They will be supported on their lower corners and on the diagonal sides of the sails where the edges meet each other at the same level.
Thanks to the chosen spherical geometry the shell can be produced innovatively and at the same time economically. It is proposed to make the surface out of fibreglass reinforced plastic (GRP), prefabricated sandwich elements as used in shipbuilding and aircraft construc-tion. In doing so web structures will be inserted between the two GRP coating layers in order to create the effective static depth. A particular attraction could be the partial translucency that lights up the structure from inside, particularly at night. In order to reveal the inner transfer of forces in the shell, it is possible to divide up the individual segments using the stress trajectories. The later joints would then be translucent and the forces transfer would be visible at night like leaf veins on the shell.
