CF Møller transforms historic psychiatric hospital into Mind Museum on Funen

A museum born from hospital walls

Danish architecture studio CF Møller has completed the Mind Museum in Middelfart on the island of Funen, transforming one of the original buildings of a former psychiatric hospital into a museum that tells the history of Danish psychiatry. The project, which won first prize in an architectural competition in 2024, occupies a 1,500-square-metre structure originally built in 1888 as part of the Teglgårdsparken hospital complex.

The museum, officially named MIND – Danmarks Psykiatriske Museum, opened to the public following a two-year design and construction period. The building has been maintained in its original external form to preserve the overall character of the Teglgårdsparken park landscape.

Two floors, two distinct experiences

CF Møller’s design strategy creates a clear separation between the ground and first floors, each serving a different visitor experience. The ground floor has been restored to evoke the hospital’s original atmosphere, using historical colour references and spatial qualities that reference the building’s past as a psychiatric facility. Dark linoleum flooring recalls the historical varnished timber floors, while new portals, staircases, and furniture in oiled oak add warmth and tactility.

The first floor has been transformed into a modern, white, and flexible exhibition space capable of hosting various forms of communication and temporary displays. This dual approach allows visitors to move from an authentic historical environment to a contemporary gallery setting within the same building.

Key interventions with limited budget

The project balances respect for the original architecture with strategic resource allocation. The budget was concentrated on a few high-impact interventions: a new main staircase, new connections between rooms, an internal “MINDwalk” stair connecting the ground floor to the basement, and a café with precise, simple detailing. Together, these elements create a clear experiential hierarchy and provide space for both authenticity and contemporary flexibility.

Externally, the roof has been replaced and the windows renovated. Material choices support a simple and robust expression throughout. The outdoor areas have been enhanced with a new sculpture garden, extending the museum experience into the surrounding landscape.

Key facts

Why this matters for architecture readers

The Mind Museum represents a careful model of adaptive reuse where heritage preservation and contemporary museum programming coexist without compromise. For architects and designers working with historic institutional buildings, the project demonstrates how selective, budget-conscious interventions can transform a closed, single-use structure into a public cultural asset. The dual-floor strategy — one floor retaining historical character, the other offering flexible white-box exhibition space — provides a replicable template for similar conversions of 19th-century institutional buildings across Europe.

The project also raises questions about how architecture can stage difficult histories. By preserving the spatial structure and material cues of the original psychiatric hospital, the design allows the building itself to serve as an exhibit, rather than merely a container for objects. This approach may inform future museum projects dealing with sensitive institutional histories.

Source and further context

The Mind Museum project was developed in collaboration with client consultant Dan Ljungar and engineering firm Søren Jensen Engineers. The museum is operated by Partnerselskabet MIND, Denmark’s Psychiatric Museum.

Source: Dezeen, https://www.dezeen.com/2026/10/01/cf-moller-mind-museum/