Norell/Rodhe's 2nd-prize entry for the Hans Christian Andersen House of Fairytales in Denmark
By Bustler Editors|
Wednesday, Apr 16, 2014
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It's story time! Norell/Rodhe's "One Garden, Seven Characters" proposal for a new Hans Christian Andersen "House of Fairytales" in Odense, Denmark exudes an air of whimsical charm like the fairy tales of the iconic Danish author and poet.
Out of 475 entries from 57 countries in the international ideas competition, Norell/Rodhe won second prize. The results of the ideas competition will be a precursor to a restricted design competition in the future.
Scroll down further to see Norell/Rodhe's approach.
Project description:
"Our proposal "One Garden, Seven Characters" reunites the fragmented site for the new H C Andersen Museum into a secret but publicly accessible garden with discrete museum pavilions. It unclutters key historical buildings, including the house where Hans Christian Andersen was born, from more recent additions. And, finally, it forms a new House of Fairytales by tying garden, pavilions, historical buildings and a new transfer tunnel together with an expansive subterranean underworld of exhibition spaces."
"The scheme for the new House of Fairytales is founded on the idea of a garden populated by seven architectural “characters”. Throughout the garden, a pattern of winding paths give the whole site a cohesive identity, while at the same time breaking it down into manageable parts that can be themed individually. The contrast between this pattern and the surrounding urban fabric will clearly indicate to the visitor that by crossing the border to the site they step into the world of fairy tales. The characters are museum pavilions that are playfully but strategically distributed throughout the garden.
Each pavilion develops its distinct persona through proportions, materiality and its relation to adjacent landscape elements in the garden. The small scale and varying character of the pavilions puts them in productive dialogue with the authentic buildings in the north corner of the site. Together, the new and the authentic will begin to unfold narratives with ties to both the fairy tales and contemporary culture."
"A recurring theme in H C Andersen’s fairy tales is the idea that things or characters may turn out to be different than what they seem at a first glance. What seems big and mighty may turn out to be small and insignificant – and vice versa. Architecturally, we embrace this idea by crafting an experience that is based on surprise and the gradual revealing of spaces and events. To the visitors, the garden first seems sparsely populated by small buildings and it is not until they approach one of the pavilions that they get a glimpse of the hidden subterranean world of the House of Fairytales. Similarly, the materiality and formal language of each pavilion reveals an interior with radically different character."
"To enter the underworld, visitors descend down into the pool, arriving in a linear foyer space that opens up to a sunken day lit patio, a museum shop and all exhibition spaces. Further day light is provided through two of the pavilions, located at each end of the space. The architectural character of the underworld is created by a play between a rigid and rational column grid and soft curvatures of retaining walls that encircle trees and directs flows of visitors. The grid and the curvatures are designed so that the exhibition spaces can be freely broken down into smaller spaces with temporary walls, if wanted. Housing approximately 2.600 sq m of floor area, this hidden underworld is an opportunity to develop the fairy tale experience freed from the constraints of the historical center of Odense."
Project details:
Client: The City of Odense
Project Design: Norell/Rodhe
Team: Daniel Norell, Einar Rodhe, Aron Fidjeland, Axel Wolgers
Size: 3.500 sq m
Images via norellrodhe.se.
Click the thumbnails below to see more images.
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